'Don't Do It': Fort Worth Police Rescue Suicidal Woman From Overpass
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - Dash-cam video shared on social media by the Fort Worth Police Department shows officers talking a suicidal woman off the ledge of an overpass.
"Don't do it."
Those are first the words one of the officers says to her.
The woman looks small. So much smaller than the ominous storm cloud behind her and the expanse of concrete winding far behind and below the eastbound overpass from 35-W to 820.
Rain is falling.
She is crying.
"What's your name?" Fort Worth police officer Justin Henry asks.
She quickly clasps her hands to her chest.
"It doesn't matter," she answers.
The wind whips at her shirt. She looks back and down… back and down.
"It does matter!" Henry yells. "It does matter! What's your name?"
The skies are heavy. The grey mixes with the color of the concrete. But the woman looks like light; as though the wind could easily knock her off the overpass.
"Please, please just take care of my dogs," the woman pleads as one officer slowly approaches, motioning for his partner to gently circle behind her.
"Stop! Stop moving closer," the woman cries, jerking her hands down by her side.
"My name's Justin," Henry, now only feet away says.
The woman moves her feet. Inches seem like miles. It's nerve wracking to watch.
"No! Everybody wants me dead, so I'll just die."
"Nobody wants that!" says Henry .
Two minutes and 15 seconds feels like an eternity. Finally both police officers are within arm's reach.
"I'm scared! I'm scared!" she shrieks.
"You don't want to do this. Please get down. Get down," Henry and Officer Trae Ciercan say as they grab her and firmly put her on the ground. "We're going to get you some help, ok."
"We both grabbed her at the same time," described Ciercan at a news conference Thursday afternoon. "We didn't really say or communicate back-and-forth to each other we just kept looking at each other and gave each other head nods... moving closer and closer. Once we get close enough to grab her it might've been just a little head nod and we both went at the same."
After they save the woman from herself and place her in their squad car, they continue to ask her what her name is.
Henry continues to calmly tell her that they're going to get her some help.
"We're going to go to the hospital to get you some help. Whatever's going on, it's not worth it," he says.
"Everyone wants me to die," she says tearfully, quieter now that she doesn't have to yell over the wind.
"No that's not true. I'm Justin and this is Trey and we don't want you to die."
For the first time on the video, we hear the other officer's voice.
"We're here for you, ok," says Ciercan.
The woman is in the care of JPS Hospital.
Her family says they are forever grateful to the officers who they hope to one day meet.
"Thank you for all you did to save our daughter and your hard work. We appreciate all that you do."
