After 5 Hours of Talks, Police Persuade Colorado Street Bridge Potential Suicide Jumper to Return to Safety

A 25-year-old man perched outside the safety railing of the Colorado Street Bridge threatened to jump to his death Monday for five and a half hours before police negotiators were able to persuade him to return to safety.

The man was spotted at about 12:17 p.m. by a passerby travelling across the bridge who called 911, Lt. John Luna said.

Responding officers spoke to the man, who officials described as distraught. Negotiators and clinicians from the Police Department’s Homeless Outreach Psychiatric Evaluation (HOPE) and Crisis Negotiation Team arrived and spoke directly to the young man in a dialogue that went on all afternoon, Luna said.

Luna said the man’s family, which had reported him as a “critical missing” to another Southland law enforcement agency, came to Pasadena and sequestered at Police Department headquarters.

Ultimately at about 5:43 p.m. the man climbed back to safety and was transported to a local hospital for a psychiatric evaluation and hold.

Pasadena Fire Department personnel and equipment were also on scene,  which resulted in the  bridge’s closure in both directions during the entire incident.