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The city at its worst: 'Jump,' they cried - Times Colonist
| Message Board > General Chitchat > The city at its worst: 'Jump,' they cried - Times Colonist |
| Walker Texas Ranger User Info... | Times Colonist Jack Knox "Sgt. Doug Bond has been a Victoria cop for 29 years. He has attended way too many suicides, hundreds maybe, and seen even more attempts. Distraught, despondent figures teetering on the edge of the Johnson Street Bridge are nothing new. But Bond had never seen anything like it, when the cowards in the darkness began baying for blood. The call came in at 9:07 p.m. last Monday, a citizen reporting a 40-ish man climbing to the top of the bridge. Initial attempts to talk down the mentally ill man went nowhere, so experienced negotiators were called in. Police blocked off both ends of the bridge and positioned their rescue boat nearby. A fire department cherry picker carried up the two negotiators to talk to the man, who was perched on a narrow girder, about 30 metres up. A couple of hundred people gathered to watch. As time dragged on, some would-be bridge-users pointed to their watches, huffed and puffed about having hotels to get to or pizzas to pick up, and muttered about the inconvenience of it all. Bad enough, but it was the behaviour of others in the crowd that was truly appalling. "Jump!" they called. "Jump, you chickenshit!" And the man almost did. "You could see he was getting psyched up to go over the edge," said Bond. The police had had enough. When some bozo on the Vic West side up close and urged the guy to go, the cops moved in. Bozo tried to run, but wasn't fast enough. He was led away in handcuffs, much to the consternation of a group at the other end of the bridge, who howled their displeasure. Police vans were dispatched to the shore off Swift Street, and the heroes lost their voices. The handcuffed man could face a Criminal Code charge of counselling a person to commit suicide. Happily, the fellow on the bridge didn't jump. He was talked into the firetruck bucket shortly before 11 p.m., and taken to hospital for psychiatric evaluation. Bond was left shaking his head at the behaviour of the rubberneckers, both those who were yelling "jump" and those who took the bridge closure as a personal affront. "I know it might be an inconvenience for people, but you've got to look at the global picture," he said. If that were a family member on top of the bridge, wouldn't you want every effort made to save him? Sometimes that takes a while. If the first cops on the scene can't talk down a jumper fairly easily, they back off and call in the people with special training. The police boat comes, as do ambulance crews. "We don't start negotiations until we have our resources in place." That may take time, but the alternative can be tragic. Several years ago, a man leapt off the Bay Street bridge during negotiations. "He drowned in front of his family." Another man jumped a year or so ago, but was plucked from the water by the boat. Indignant citizens who were forced to suffer the calamity of cold pizza should keep in mind that trying to prevent a suicide isn't exactly a picnic for police. While last Monday's incident was going on, they were also dealing with a man who was holding a knife to his own throat, a big fight on Hillside Avenue and a hard-luck car thief who bailed out and ran when he stumbled into the commotion at the bridge. It's not as though the cops didn't have places to go, either. Perhaps some people act callously because they think jumpers are merely attention-seekers. Not so, said Bond. "These people have hit rock bottom." Last weekend, Victorians helped the Courtnall brothers raise several hundred thousand dollars to combat the effects of mental illness. That showed the city at its compassionate best. A day later, we saw it at its worst." - Wed, 30 Jul 2003 3:35am | ||
| big fat J User Info... | This is my favorite color. - Wed, 30 Jul 2003 4:05am | ||
| KnifeGhost User Info... | >>Perhaps some people act callously because they think >>jumpers are merely attention-seekers. Not so, said >>Bond. "These people have hit rock bottom." There's NO WAY I'm going to make that joke.... No.... I won't do it.... Fuck off..... Someone else will have to..... - Thu, 31 Jul 2003 1:34pm | ||
| V User Info... | hey wasn't this the thread that got all wraped up in cop hating and ignorance and all that other ill shit? what's that? fuck, fuck, fuck the police? - Thu, 31 Jul 2003 2:50pm | ||
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