Fla. paramedic talks man out of bridge jump

November 11, 2009 03:46 AM

By Kameel Stanley
The St. Petersburg Times

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Seth Jacobson has been a firefighter and paramedic for more than 20 years.

He’s rarely surprised by what he sees on the job.

But five hours into his 24-hour shift on Tuesday, Jacobson got a shock. About 1:30 p.m., he and other emergency responders were called to the Sunshine Skyway bridge for a report of a disabled vehicle.

Tips on Handling Suicidal Patients

By Jill Torres, CCEMTP/NREMTP

Every call that an emergency provider responds to has the risk of being dangerous and responding to possible patients who are suicidal are no exception.

We as providers need to be cognizant of patients that have behavioral or psychological issues. Some tips in handling the suicidal patient are:

1) Your safety and your partner’s safety
Often times we respond to calls and do not get the full picture or ride in with the imaginary blinders on. Our personal safety will and should always be our top priority in dealing with any patient.

2) Take them seriously
Any patient who states they want to commit or complete a suicide should always be taken seriously. They may have been thinking about it for a long period of time or it may be a rash, hasty decision and they are looking for someone to help them. Not all cries for help are obvious and we have to be alert to changes in the status of our patients.

3) Listen
Your patient, once comfortable with you, will want to talk. They may only want to talk with you. Listen to what they are saying. By actually listening, you will make a conscious effort to concentrate on them and their message. This will make your patient feel as though they are important and that someone is understanding them.

4) Take action
Get your patient to the most suitable facility for additional treatment and counseling. We as care providers have minimal training when dealing with psychological emergencies. We need to make sure that our patients realize that we will not be sworn to secrecy and we will follow through with getting them help.

Jill Torres is a Nationally Registered Paramedic for the Town of Salem Fire and Rescue Department and a Certified Critical Care Paramedic. She has presented suicide-related educational sessions at EMS conferences and is the president of EMS Trendsetters.

When they got to the top of the southbound side, they saw a Jeep with a trailer parked on the right-hand side of the road.

Everything seemed normal, until a man stepped out of the passenger door.

“He had a noose around his neck and a knife to his throat and was screaming at us to get away from him,” Jacobson said.

Within moments, the man had moved to the bridge wall, sitting with both legs over the side and his gaze fixed on the water.

The rope around his neck was anchored to his Jeep.

Jacobson didn’t go away. He spent the next several minutes talking with the man, whom he eventually persuaded to get down.

A Florida Highway Patrol trooper then used a Taser on the man, who was still armed, and took him into custody under the Baker Act.

“It was an intense 30 to 45 minutes,” Jacobson, 47, said. “It felt like eight hours.”

Authorities did not release the man’s name. He is 44, said Highway Patrol Sgt. Larry Kraus.

Jacobson, a father and grandfather, said the encounter was stressful, but comes with the job.

In fact, he said, it was the would-be jumper who chose him. When a trooper initially tried to approach the man, the man balked and pointed his finger at Jacobson to come nearer.

“He wanted me to understand why he killed himself so I could tell other people,” Jacobson said. “He said, ‘Well, you don’t know me and you don’t know the beast in me.’?”

Amid strong wind gusts and trucks whizzing by, Jacobson told the man he, too, had a beast in him.

“I was trying to tell him we all have nightmares in our life.”

Jacobson had another bargaining chip - the man mentioned a female, and the paramedic said he would try to contact her.

“He was in a very precarious position,” Jacobson said. “It’s amazing he didn’t go over.”

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