Mexico City Police Officer Saves Man From Jumping off Bridge

"MX" for Borderland Beat

A quick-thinking policeman in Mexico City saved a man who was planning to commit suicide by jumping off a bridge 20 m (65 ft) high. His risky but heroic action was captured by a video camera and quickly circulated throughout social media. The name of the policeman is Marco Antonio Ramírez Rocha, who leads a unit in Mexico City's Secretariat of Security and Civilian Protection (SSC).

The incident began when an unidentified man arrived at the bridge at around 9:00 p.m. and stood on the rail. He said he was planning to kill himself. Paramedics, policemen and firefighters were called to the scene to convince the man to step down. Others on the bottom of the bridge set up a canvas to prevent him from dying from the fall. While the rescuers distracted the man, the police officer moved slowly from the side and ran on the rail before tackling the man to the ground, saving his life. 

Interview

Police officer Ramírez Rocha, who is nicknamed by his colleagues as Jefe Apóstol ("Apostle Chief") for his Christian faith, spoke to the press after the incident and gave his version of the story. He explained that he spoke with the man who wanted to kill himself for at least 10 minutes.

However, Ramírez Rocha said the man was reluctant to hear him and said he wanted to speak with his wife. The police officer also said that the man was drunk. "The man was moving to the center of the bridge and we knew that he would become unreachable at some point", Ramírez Rocha explained.

He said that there was no other way to save the man's life but to tackle him off the rail. Ramírez Rocha said he was scared and explained that he thought about his two children (ages 11 and 14). He concluded the interview by saying that all police officers are heroes.

Aftermath

The man who tried to commit suicide will remain under arrest for several days. Per Mexican law, his actions were deemed as an "administrative infraction".

Marco Antonio Ramírez Rocha, the police officer who saved the man

Officer Ramírez Rocha received an ovation from the press, people on social media and his entire police force. His actions were recorded on Twitter and shared in over 230,000 tweets in just a few minutes. The press recognized the actions of the police officers and said that this incident can help improve the image of the police in Mexico City.

SSC's chief Omar García Harfuch called him to thank him for his courage and commitment to his duty. Ramírez Rocha said that his ovation should also extend to the other 30 rescuers at the scene who coordinated with him to save the man's life.

"We feel proud as an institution and this is a reflection of the hard work we have been doing as a team and not only as individual contributors", he said.

Suicide in Mexico

According to Mexico's National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), approximately 6,000 people commit suicide in Mexico every year. At least half of them are below 35 years old. 8 out of 10 of the victims are males. Most of them are between the ages of 25 and 29.

Between 2010 and 2017, the states with the highest suicides rates were Chihuahua, Yucatán, Aguascalientes, Campeche and Colima. The most common suicide methods are hanging, strangulation, self-inflicted gunshot wounds, poisoning and drug overdose.