Rookie South Pasadena Police Officer Saves Sobbing, Suicidal 12-Year-Old Girl

A rookie South Pasadena police officer on Tuesday  saved a sobbing 12-year-old girl who was hanging with one hand onto the York Bridge some 80 feet above the Pasadena Freeway, threatening to jump.

At approximately 6:50 p.m., Officer C. Perez, who was on routine patrol in the area of the York Bridge and San Pascual Avenue, was flagged down by a group of citizens directing him to a suicidal child that was sitting on the other side of the bridge’s ledge hanging on with one hand, threatening to jump.

The child was sobbing and desperate, authorities said.

Perez immediately stopped his police car on the bridge and calmly walked to the area where the child was dangling, speaking to her. He learned the child was from a group home in Los Angeles and fled from the facility for severe emotional reasons, wanting to die.

Perez asked the child if he could approach her to speak to her more personally and she told him he could.

He quickly developed a trusting communication with her and was able to calm her down. Perez carefully talked to her and she agreed to let him approach her more closely. He asked the child if he could help her back over the bridge railing to safety and she told him she was scared, needing help.

Perez then leaned over the railing, grabbing the child’s arm as she clung to his upper body, trembling. He placed her in a bear hug and helped her over the railing to safety.

Officer Perez sat with the child on the sidewalk and gave her water. When the child complained of an ankle injury Perez summoned the fire department for assistance.

The child is a 12-year-old living in a group home at an address off of Avenue 64, in Los Angeles. The child was taken into custody for medical evaluation and is now safe.

Officer Perez is a one year veteran of the police department and graduated from the South Pasadena High School.