Police Officers in Miami-Dade County, Florida, rescued a man hanging from a highway overpass on August 29, body camera footage reveals.
Officer Randy Pineyro and Sergeant Cheryl Diaz responded to a call about a 19-year-old man in distress near an expressway and found him dangling from the edge of an overpass, according to brproud.com.
Video footage of the incident shows the moment the officers approached the man and pleaded with him not to let go:
“Don’t do it, buddy, don’t do it,” Sergeant Diaz told him. “Don’t do it, please,” she added.
Seconds later, Officer Pineyro approached on the other side then threw himself down and grabbed the man’s arm.
“I got him, I got him!” he called out to his fellow officers.
Another camera angle showed cars stopped on the highway below as an additional officer ran up underneath.
Once several officers took hold of the distressed man, they began pulling him to safety. He was later transported to a local hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.
“The officers’ swift actions are a reflection of their crisis intervention training,” the Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD) said in a news release, adding that onlookers captured additional footage of the incident and posted it online.
In a tweet Monday, MDPD Director Alfredo Ramirez III praised the officers for their actions.
“I’m extremely proud, although not surprised, of the officers’ heroic acts to save a human life. I’m also grateful for the citizen video & body cam footage which allows us a glimpse of what is so often unnoticed, our finest in action safeguarding life & protecting our community!” he wrote.
Twitter users also thanked the police officers and expressed concern for the man.
“That was intense. Thank y’all for saving him and I hope he gets the help he needs,” one person wrote.
“Great Work Miami Dade Officers!!! Back them!! Support them!!” another commented.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.