Blog: KPD News & Alerts

Crisis Negotiators Successfully Talk Suicidal Individual Off Interstate Overpass

After over two hours of careful negotiations, Knoxville Police Department officers successfully talked a suicidal individual off of an interstate overpass last night.

Just before 9 p.m. on Sunday, September 26, KPD officers received a call that a man was standing on the guardrail of the Baxter Avenue bridge over I-275. Officers arrived on scene and attempted to speak with the man, who was threatening to jump off of the bridge. A short section of I-275 was closed down out of an abundance of caution and traffic was diverted off of the interstate and around the Baxter Avenue bridge. KPD negotiators were requested and immediately responded to the scene.

After extensive negotiations and efforts to build rapport with the individual, at around 11:15 p.m., officers convinced the man to step off of the guardrail. The man, age 37, was safely transported via AMR to an area hospital for evaluation. One of the negotiators rode with the man in the ambulance to ensure that he felt safe and comforted until being left in the care of hospital staff.

“I am proud of the compassionate and empathetic response of our officers to assist an individual in crisis,” Chief of Police Eve Thomas said. “Crisis negotiators responded without hesitation to help deescalate this situation, while a multitude of Central Business District and West District officers pitched in to ensure this came to a successful resolution. This was a team effort with one singular purpose in mind – to help a person in need.”

Posted by serland On 27 September, 2021 at 9:42 AM