Detective talks man down from bridge

Detective Thomas Rivers kept a North Charleston man from jumping to his death from the Ravenel Bridge on Tuesday, but he's not a counselor, he just happened to be the police officer closest to the scene. The Post and Courier has the whole story on what happened.

At about 2 p.m. Tuesday, Rivers showed up at the scene, with the man (who's not being named) about to climb over. In just 11 minutes, the detective was able to convince him to come back. Rivers said he tried to keep a distance, but keep the conversation going, so that the man would think more about him than jumping.

From The Post and Courier:

He listened as the man talked about being out of work for months. He said he just caused problems for everyone. He talked about his family and described how he'd tried to arrange to donate his organs after his death.

...

"It's probably the most emotional moment of my whole career, and I've been doing this 11 years," Rivers said.

The most recent suicide via the Ravenel Bridge came back in January, when theassistant principal of a Mount Pleasant Middle School jumped to her death. The Post and Courier reports that four people have jumped from the bridge since it opened in 2005, and only one has survived.

If you are thinking about suicide and want help, or if you know someone who might be, Trident United Way has a crisis center available. You can get in touch with their 24-hour hot line by dialing 211 on your phone.

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