Earlier today Michael Davitt, 54, drove to the Tappan Zee Bridge, tied a rope to his van and leapt toward the Hudson River.
He dangled 75-feet below the bridge for nearly four hours in an apparent protest, until emergency workers were able to bring him down.
Davitt made the jump just before 11 a.m. and stayed perched atop a sign that read “Rockland Executive Legislature Cover Up Retaliation” until the early afternoon.
Davitt was protesting his own termination, according to reports. He served as a substance abuse counselor for the Department of Mental Health from 1991 to 2008, according to Patch.com, before he was let go.
After years of complaining at county legislative meetings and leading one-man protests, Davitt decided to up the ante — much to legislators’ disapproval.
Davitt’s stunt shut down both lanes of traffic for several hours. Around 2 p.m., Davitt plunged into the river and was pulled into a rescue boat.
“This is certainly not the way you go about getting heard,” Rockland County spokesman Ron Levine said to Patch.com. “We’re totally taken aback that he decided to do this today. He put himself at risk and put all the emergency workers at risk.”
