Life Saving Incident
December 20, 2016
New York
Bronx County
New York
An NYPD officer was out Christmas shopping with his family when he saw a man who wanted to kill himself and he used the best technique he could think of to save his life: a hug.
Officer Christian Campoverde of the 40th Precinct in the Bronx said he was on an escalator with his family when the man pushed past them at the Queens Center Mall on Dec. 20. The man was muttering that he wanted to end his own life. The officer charged up the escalator steps and caught up with the emotionally disturbed man just as he was headed to the third-floor railing.
"I grabbed him by the waistband and said, 'My name is Officer Campoverde. Can we talk?'" he recalled.
Remembering a key lesson he'd learned only a week earlier at a Crisis Intervention Team Training session, Campoverde quickly changed his tone.
"My name is Chris," he told the man. "I don't know what you're going through, but I know it must be pretty bad, but trust me, it's not worth it.
"Is it OK if I give you a hug? Do you want a hug?" the officer asked. The man said yes and embraced Campoverde, breaking down in tears.
Officers from the NYPD's Strategic Response Group stationed at the mall helped Campoverde subdue the man, who was taken for psych evaluation.
Officer Capoverde's actions saved the man from ending his life.
The history of law enforcement in the United States is a long and wonderful history of bravery. This website is dedicated to documenting the heroic deeds of law enforcement officers throughout the United States who have either given or risked their lives to save others. There are many stories of bravery and heroism for many who are considered first responders. However, it is those in law enforcement who are most likely to be the first to arrive upon a location requiring life saving acts engaging dangerous hostage takers, running into burning buildings/vehicles, providing first aid to seriously injured victims, saving near drowning victims and much more are what the women and men of law enforcement do routinely and at many times, great peril to their own safety.
It is our mission to document the history of lives saved by those dedicated women and men in law enforcement. To share with others the dramatic deeds of those individuals who are the first, first responders. It is so important for our citizens to understand that law "enforcement" is not always about enforcing the law but rather being there when our citizens need us.
It is to this end we are dedicated to promoting documentation regarding the history of law enforcement and the lives they have saved.
