New Brunswick Police Honored For Saving 2 In Suicide Attempts

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — This Wednesday night, multiple New Brunswick police officers were honored by the 200 Club of Middlesex County for heroic actions in the past two years.

Here are two of the stories:

Sergeant John Yurkovic, Police Officer Michael Kerwin and Police Officer Matthew Riepenhoff

On April 7, 2020, Officers Kerwin and Riepenhoff, under the supervision of Sgt. Yurkovic, responded to the Rt. 1 Morris Goodkind Bridge to search for a man threatening to commit suicide jumping from the bridge. The Goodkind Bridge connects the city of New Brunswick and Edison Township, and spans the Raritan River approximately 100 feet below.

They soon located the man walking in the left lane of traffic along Rt. 1 north. The man, who by this point had called 911 himself and reported to dispatchers that he was in possession of a handgun and wanted to die, continued to walk away from officers as they followed him on foot, desperately trying to engage him in dialogue.

At one point, the visibly distraught man stopped in his tracks and made a run for the railing. All three sprinted after him. As the man was vaulting over the top of the railing, they were able to grab him, at which point he began violently resisting them as he was perched partly on the top railing and partly over the railing on the river side.

"Through the application of raw strength, all three officers were able to pull the man up, over the railing and down to the roadway where they successfully handcuffed him," wrote the 200 Club. "Officers continued to show the man compassion as they verbally engaged him while awaiting the arrival of EMS personnel, learning that the man unfortunately suffered from serious mental illness, was hearing voices telling him that he was worthless and to kill himself, and had been unable to refill his medicines due to the pandemic."

The man was taken to a nearby hospital.

Police Officer James Perotti, Police Officer Harrison Tejada

On a chaotic midnight shift of July 4, 2020, partners Officer Perotti and Officer Tejada responded to the New Street Bridge that spans both the northbound and southbound local and express lanes of one of New Jersey’s most heavily traveled highways, Rt. 18. The call to which they responded was for a suicidal man on the bridge.

Upon their arrival, Officers Perotti and Tejada located an adult man seated on the very top of the pedestrian fence, visibly crying, as heavy vehicle traffic flowed underneath.

They immediately called for any available units to stop traffic on Rt. 18 south, and began their attempts to engage the distraught man. It was determined that the man only spoke Spanish, so Officer Tejada, being a fluent Spanish speaker, stepped up to engage the man in conversation.

Tejada quickly learned that it was the man's intent to kill himself by jumping from the pedestrian fence to the highway below. He continued to engage the man in Spanish, "showing compassion and attempting to convince him not to end his life, but to seek help instead," wrote the 200 Club. After an extended duration, the officers convinced the man to climb down from the fence with the promise of a hug.

"The distraught man, who just moments earlier was making furtive movements toward jumping to the highway below, climbed down the fence where he was greeted by both officers who enabled him to receive the psychiatric help he needed," said the 200 Club.

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