Geneva Cops Credited For Saving Man Threatening To Take Life On Tracks

GENEVA, IL — Five Geneva police officers are credited with saving a man who threatened to take his life on the Union Pacific West train trestle over the Fox River on May 4.

Officers were dispatched to the tracks at 7:58 p.m. and were able to stop train traffic and make contact with the man on the platform, which was about 100 feet above the river, officials said Tuesday.

Police said negotiations with the man took more than 70 minutes, during which he threatened to jump or use knives to harm himself. The man "willingly walked to officers unharmed" and was later taken to Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital.

In commending the officers, police officials said in a news release that they "subjected themselves to great risk by walking along the trestle to help deescalate the situation" and were able to remain "calm by utilizing their extensive crisis intervention training to end a very dangerous and tense incident."

For those in need of assistance, a part-time, on-site social worker is available to assist at the Geneva Police Department. Appointments with Allison Bader, the city's contracted Association for Individual Development (AID) social worker, can be made by calling the Geneva Police Department at 630-232-4736 or sending an email.

In addition to the partnership with AID, the police department has an existing Crisis Intervention Team comprised of officers who have received specialized training to help residents with mental illness. More than half of Geneva police officers are CIT-trained, officials said.