A despondent man was saved by a Jacksonville, Florida, police officer and a team of other cops who talked the individual out of jumping as he was perched on the edge of a bridge nearly two hundred feet above the St. Johns River.
Recently released body cam video taken on April 12 on the Dames Point Bridge shows Officer Antonio Richardson talking to the man and evoking faith — faith in God and faith that the man has a better future.
“Whatever you’re going through, man, you can get through it,” Richardson can be heard saying in the video.
He continues, “Now listen, man. Listen. Listen. You can get through this.”
Richardson, who also is a minister, evoked a Higher Power.
“Let’s talk about it for a minute … You believe in prayer, I know that … Just touch my hand. Just touch my hand, man, I’m praying with you,” he says.
The stream of conversation lasted a good 40 minutes.
“If you jump, you’re going to hurt other people,” he says at one point. “And they’re going to be hurting just like you’re hurting now … The cycle’s gotta stop.”
Finally, after many moments, the man stepped away from the edge and walked toward the officer, who wrapped his arms around him. Other officers then stepped in as well.
Not only did the group of policemen save the man, but they did so at some risk.
The Emergency Service Unit in the New York Police Department, as well as other departments, for example, always tether the rescuing officer to a harness for the officer’s safety.
In this case, the officer reached out his hand, the would-be jumper took it, and the cop not only pulled him to safety, but they also grasped one another in an emotional embrace.
Richards told Fox & Friends on Friday that he originally was not part of the group trying to save the man.
“When I got the call … I was just there to stop the traffic,” he said. “And then a couple of other officers who knew my position as a pastor asked me to come over and talk with the guy … Nothing was scripted … I did not want to see him jump.”
“I just felt within myself that God was going to spare his life — and he did,” he said.
The officer has more than 30 years’ experience as a minister.
The incident revealed that cops, despite being exposed to the worst of humanity on a daily basis, still feel the impact of their work.
After the man was safe, Richardson said he went to his patrol car, called his wife, and “wept like a baby.”
Veteran crime writer Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of the Los Angeles crime novel Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
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