Originally Posted by
stacylove 
This is good infomation, I honestly didn't know you are supposed to call the police when someone threatens suicide. Is this anytime? For example, if someone says, I've been thinking about suicide lately. ? I have an internet friend who has talked about this, I wish I would have known, because we ended up fighting and I haven't heard from him since, hopefully he is ok. Next time I will know, thank you.
I don't think you need to call the police/911 for everyone who says he/she has been thinking about it. In that situation I would urge the person to get some psychiatric help or to call a suicide hotline.
What we're talking here is about people who (a) are making threats of doing something imminently and/or (b) are most likely using it as a form of manipulation. In that situation(s) calling the police or 911 can get them taken to the crisis unit so you, personally don't have to worry about "rescuing" them, and also shows that you are not going to be manipulated that way. If they are playing games, they will think twice before pulling it again when it results in getting "held for observation" for a day or more.