Officer Recounts Rescue Of Suicidal Teen
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Twin Cities teenager stood on a ledge; ready to jump onto the interstate below.
A 911 caller first spotted her. Two officers knew the severity from the start.
"Obviously given the call type, we went there immediately fearing the worst," Eagan Police Officer Joe Moseng said.
A 17-year-old girl had climbed over the fence that separates the Diffley Road Bridge from Interstate 35E.
Moseng knew they might not have much time.
"Ma'am? My name is Joe. I'm a police officer with the city of Eagan, OK?" Moseng said in dash cam video. "We're here to help you."
"There's nothing that you can really say in that moment," Moseng said. "Alls I could do is just tell her it was OK."
Lately, Moseng says he cannot help but think about the scrutiny his profession is under on every call. A band over his badge shows he is mourning officers recently killed in other states.
"Throughout the state and the country, we're family," he said.
All are working in a career where some, like Moseng, are used to seeing people at their low points.
"Nobody ever calls you to say, 'Hey, I had a good day. You want to come over and have dinner with us?' I mean, people are calling us because life isn't going well for them," Moseng said.
And life may have ended for a teenager on Monday morning, had two officers not responded exactly how they did.
"Once she had reached the top of the fence and swung her leg over, I grabbed her leg and her arm and helped pull her back," he said. "Soon as I set her feet on the ground, she instantly grabbed onto me and hugged me and started crying into my chest. Just so happen that Officer Tesra and myself happened to be right there and were able to make that difference in her life. And hopefully she gets some of the help that she needs."
The teenager was taken to a hospital for a mental health evaluation. Her dad reached out to the department to thank the officers for saving his daughter's life.
Click here for resources on how to help children and adults with mental illness.
Also, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-TALK(8255).
