By Kellie Love
Hartford Courant
GROTON, Conn. — Two police officers talked a man off the top of the Gold Star Bridge security barrier during a mental health crisis on Sunday.
The Groton Emergency Communications Center received a radio call around 4:48 p.m. on Sunday from Groton Ambulance personnel who were crossing the Gold Star Bridge in Groton and reported that a man had one leg over the top of the bridge’s security barrier, according to the Town of Groton Police Department.
As Officers Bryan Albee and Cristopher Brillon arrived at the scene, they observed a distressed man sitting atop the bridge security barrier of the northern section of the Interstate 95 South span of the Gold Star Bridge.
The officers engaged in a positive dialogue with the man, according to Officer Albee’s body camera footage.
“How can I help?” Officer Albee asked the man. “I really want to help you brother, I really do. Come on man, give me a shot.”
The man asked the officer what for, the bodycam footage shows.
“Because I wanna help you man,” Albee responded, according to the bodycam footage.
The man appeared to ask Albee what was the point of helping him, the bodycam footage shows.
“There is always a point,” Albee said. “Come on, please don’t do it. Please don’t do it my man. I’m here with you, let’s figure it out. Please. I’ll do whatever I gotta to do to help you through this brother. I promise.”
The man eventually asked if Albee would give him a hug, according to the bodycam footage. Albee agreed and told the man that if he came down, he would give him a hug.
The man came down from the security barrier as Albee slowly walked toward him. They embraced and continued talking. “I appreciate that so much my man,” Albee says to the man who is crying, the bodycam footage shows.
“Thanks to quick-thinking and compassionate Groton first responders, a crisis was averted and a distraught man is getting the mental health assistance he needed,” the department said in a release on Monday.
Connecticut State Police arrived at the scene and took control of the incident investigation. Police said due to the positive rapport Albee established with the man, he accompanied him to a local hospital in a Groton Ambulance. The man was transported to Backus Hospital in Norwich for further evaluation, according to police.
Officers were also assisted at the scene by the Groton City Fire Department, police said.
Anyone experiencing a mental health crisis, or who sees someone in crisis, should call 911, 211 or 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
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