The video of the tense rescue of a man who tried to commit suicide from a Florida bridge went viral on social networks. So far, it has registered more than 10 million views.
Orange County Police posted a link to the YouTube video on Facebook, showing the man attempting to commit suicide with a rope tied to his neck and a razor blade, attempting to jump off the pedestrian bridge at Little Econ Greenway.
After a phone call from a pedestrian to the 911 emergency number, the police rushed to the scene, accompanied by Sergeant Anthony Shea, an expert in negotiations to release hostages and with years of experience in high-tension situations.
“The man felt that he had nothing left. He had lost his job and the family had abandoned him,” Shea explained.
The agent asked the causes of the man’s decision, and also introduced other topics of conversation to try to create an empathic connection with the man and be able to help him.
In this process, he detected that both shared an interest in martial arts. In fact, he claimed that the belt around the man’s neck belonged to martial arts, as well as the clothes he was wearing.
The conversation lasted for about half an hour. He told him that the problems that plagued him were temporary and could be solved.
“My task was to tell him that temporary crises were not solved with permanent decisions,” he said.
Finally, the young man withdrew the rope from his neck and crossed to the safe part of the bridge, where he hugged Shea forcefully. The police officers took him to a nearby hospital and reported that he would not be jailed.
In their Facebook post, the Orange County Police reminded that if someone needs help of this kind, they should not hesitate to call the National Suicide Prevention Line 1-800-273-8255.