Yonkers police save man from potentially deadly jump onto I-87
Yonkers Police Department released body camera footage showing police saving a man attempting to jump near an overpass onto I-87.
Yonkers Police Department released body camera footage showing police saving a man attempting to jump near an overpass onto I-87.
It happened early Thursday morning near the Clark Street overpass.
Police said the fall could have resulted in serious injuries or death.
News 12 spoke exclusively to officers who responded to the incident.
"You got to humanize the situation and realize this is someone having a bad day," said Yonkers Police Officer Michael Heath.
Heath attempted to talk the unidentified man down from the ledge.
"Where did you come from, what brought you to this situation right now and what can we do to not escalate this in a negative manner," he said while describing his approach to the incident.
The man was not responsive to questions and attempts to get him talking.
Officer Sandro Vasquez also attempted contact and extended his hand to the man.
"It's one of those things where if I can reach out to him and have him take my hand, he may feel comfortable to go across the street," he said.
Instead, the man reached for Officer Vasquez's hand then turned and attempted to jump.
Officer Vasquez, Officer Heath and several other officers all grabbed the man who is seen in the video dangling above the highway below.
"The officers did textbook work with minimal crisis negotiation training," said First Deputy Chief Joseph Monaco.
The man was taken to a local hospital for evaluation.
