The officers, believing the man was preparing to jump, quickly grabbed him and secured him with a safety harness. Credit: DCPI
A man upset that he could not find a job was rescued by NYPD officers as he threatened to leap from the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge on Monday.
The man had driven a Dodge Caravan onto the Brooklyn-bound side of the bridge on the upper level shortly after 10 a.m. He turned on his hazard lights, ditched the vehicle and walked out onto the outer cables, police said.
Detectives Jeffrey Loughery and Paul Fazio and Officer Robert Reed arrived at the scene, put on their safety harnesses and slowly approached the man.
Reed began talking to the suicidal man, who said he was upset he could not find work and provide for his family.
When the man briefly looked down towards the water, Loughery and Fazio believed he might jump and quickly grabbed him. In a video that captured the dramatic rescue, the man is seen struggling to break free as the officers secure him with a safety harness and help him back up to the road.
The man was taken to Staten Island University North Hospital.
