Police Get Additional Training To Handle Bridge Suicides

Following another spate of suicides off of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and other metro-area spans, the New York Police Department is training a larger batch of officers to safely get jumpers down – by persuasion or by force.

The New York Post reports:

So far this year, there have been 11 suicides at the George Washington Bridge, compared with 15 for all of last year. That’s in addition to 40 other attempted suicides stopped by cops on the span.

Given the alarming numbers, the department is training more officers to deal with jumpers — including sending more of them to practice climbing the structures, including the Verrazano Bridge.

So if you see some cops climbing around up there like Spiderman, know that it’s all to keep you safe from yourself.

If you’re wondering what else the training entails, or what life is like as one of the cops on the Jumper Squad, check out this awesome – and chilling – profile from 2012 in the New York Times.