By Stacey Altherr
Newsday
Copyright 2007 Newsday, Inc.
SUFFOLK, N.Y. — For stopping a despondent man from killing himself, Suffolk Police Officers Robert Cardona and Kathleen Focas were named Cops of the Month.
On Jan. 17, Cardona was asked to ride on an ambulance that was transporting a psychiatric patient to Stony Brook University Hospital. During the trip, the man, who Cardona said was about 6-foot-4 and 270 pounds, suddenly undid his seat belt and made a move to jump from the moving vehicle on the Southern State Parkway.
“It was just me and him wrestling back there,” said Cardona.
The emergency medical technician riding in back told the driver to slow down. The man took the opportunity to jump out the back, with Cardona on his heels.
The man ran across the highway, stopping traffic both eastbound and westbound, then climbed up an embankment, ran to an overpass, and threatened to jump.
By this point, Cardona said, backup police cars had arrived and were blocking traffic.
“I tried to gain his confidence for 15 minutes,” said Cardona, who kept talking to the man. “He kept saying, ‘I’m going to jump, I’m going to jump.’ I was trying to be his friend.”
Finally, Focas, who had arrived as backup, began talking to the man and was able to gain his trust.
At one point, she held his hand and she and Cardona were able to tackle the man to the ground. He was taken to Southside Hospital in Bay Shore for evaluation and treatment.
Cardona said he wasn’t sure it would work out when the man was on the railing, but was glad it did. “The experience left me with a good feeling,” he said.