Police: Durham officers sprang into action last week to help 2 in distress
Durham police officers saved the lives of two different people on the same day who attempted suicide, the police department said.
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Officer Berkstresser responded on Jan. 16 to the first of the incidents after police received a call about a man who threatened to kill himself and said he had a gun. When Berkstresser arrived, he found the man in a shed, where he had tried to hang himself.
Berkstresser cut the man down from the ceiling, and the man regained consciousness and was able to talk with the officer.
About two hours later, three officers—Cpl. Lawrence Van Dewater and Officers A.P. Ramos and J.M. Weiss—were dispatched to a report of a woman threatening to jump off a bridge over the Durham Freeway.
The officers arrived at the scene between the Briggs Avenue and Ellis Road exits and found the woman hanging onto the highway railing with both hands. Van Dewater straddled the concrete barrier on the bridge so he could speak with the woman and keep her calm, according to the police department.
Officers Ramos and Weiss were able to briefly distract the woman, giving Van Dewater enough time to grab her coat and pull her back to safety.
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