Video Captures LAPD Officers Rescuing Man from Suicide NR11350rf

Los Angeles:  A video posted on YouTube shows LAPD Central Area officers rescuing a man in his early 30s from committing suicide yesterday, July 28, when he was attempting to jump off of an apartment building at 111 W. 7th Street.

"The most amazing thing about this is the officers’ commitment to saving this man in the face of danger to their own lives," said Lt. Paul Vernon, in charge of detectives in downtown Los Angeles.  "What you don’t see is the man actually biting the arm of Officer Rick Linton, who in spite of the pain and the insult, continues to hold on to the man."

The incident occurred around 6 p.m. last night when the man, distraught over a breakup with his girlfriend, went to the roof edge on the thirteenth floor of the apartment building.

Eventually, officers handcuffed the man to the grate to secure him and then brought in firefighters who cut the grate and removed it.  The man was then taken to a hospital for evaluation and placed on a 72-hour hold.  He was not arrested.

"What the public doesn’t always realize or appreciate are these kinds of selfless acts that police officers perform daily," Lt. Vernon added.

Officer Rick Linton is assigned to the Gang Enforcement Unit at the Central Police Station and  has four years as an officer with LAPD.

The video was taken by an independent observer watching the rescue and may be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zzPBMCkofw