Police in Poughkeepsie Save Suicidal Man on Walkway

You may have seen some Hudson Valley social media pages telling everyone to avoid the Walkway a few days ago? The Walkway Over the Hudson was indeed closed to the public for some time earlier this week, as police dealt with a serious crisis.

In fact, law enforcement, crisis teams, and other emergency units would spend over half a day doing their best to persuade a distraught male from jumping off the bridge.

According to the New York State Health Connector, there were 5,080 suicides from 2017 to 2019 across New York state. The CDC's numbers from 2021 indicate the state's yearly suicide rate is roughly the same.

Police and Rescue Crews Save Man Who Threatened to Jump

The City of Poughkeepsie PBA shared on their Facebook page that units were dispatched Tuesday night to reports of a suicidal male on the Walkway.

Police said when they arrived they made contact with the distraught male who had climbed over the railing of the bridge and was threatening to jump. At this point, negotiators began to speak with the man which would go on all night.

Just how long would they spend trying to reach this troubled person? Police said the man finally came back down from the railing by ealry Wednesday afternoon. The "continuous negotiation", according to officials, began upon first contact Tuesday night at 8:11 PM, all the way until approximately 1:51 PM Wednesday.

That is almost eighteen perilous hours. Officials said the man was safely secured by members of the Hostage Negotiation Team. He was then taken to Mid Hudson Regional Hospital for evaluation and treatment.