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mahatmakanejeeves

(60,654 posts)
Mon May 3, 2021, 10:44 AM May 2021

'A mental health crisis at 250-feet in the air' - Culpeper PD helps rescue suicidal man ...

Tactical team from Harrisonburg used repelling equipment to get suicidal subject to safety.



'A mental health crisis at 250-feet in the air' - Culpeper PD helps rescue suicidal man from atop cell tower

CULPEPER STAR-EXPONENT STAFF 49 min ago

In a high stress matter of life and death, many came together Sunday afternoon in downtown Culpeper to save a suicidal, 50-year-old man who climbed to the top of a 250-feet-tall cell tower to end his life. ... Multiple calls came into Culpeper County E911 starting around 12:18 p.m. on May 2 about a male subject climbing a cellphone tower at the Verizon building in the 600-block of Old Brandy Road at East Piedmont Street.

The man was yelling suicidal statements as he climbed the tower, according to a news release Monday morning from Culpeper Police Department spokeswoman Officer Julia Cole. ... Officers quickly responded to the area and set up a safety perimeter. Shortly after their arrival, the male subject reached the top platform of the tower with upper platforms only accessible by ladder.

A Joint Command Center was quickly formed consisting of Culpeper PD Capt. Tim Chilton, Culpeper County Volunteer Fire Department, and Culpeper County Department of Emergency Services. Once the perimeter was secured, Culpeper PD Lt. Brittany Jenkins and Officer Al Cooper, certified members of the agency’s Crisis Intervention Team and Peer Support Team, climbed the tower to the second highest platform, Cole said, in an attempt to save the man.

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Drones were deployed for surveillance as Jenkins and Cooper began the rescue attempt, which was filmed from start to finish, Chilton said. All along, the male subject continued to exhibit self-harming behaviors and armed himself with a pair of improvised weapons, Cole said.

{snip}

The Culpeper Police Department reminded anyone considering self-harm that they are not alone and help is waiting. The National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 800-273- 8255 and the SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) Hotline is 1-800-662-HELP (4357). Both are confidential, free, and available 24/7 in English or Spanish.
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