News Releases

2nd District Officers Intervene to Avert Tragedy

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Officers from the 2nd District of the Montgomery County Department of Police were dispatched around 10:45 pm last night to a group home located in the 6300 block of Greentree Road in Bethesda for the report of a missing person.

Officers were notified that an adult male had been missing from the group home since 9:00 pm.  Staff at the group home were actively searching for the missing man when they finally located him on the Union Arch Bridge located at 7934 MacArthur Boulevard.

Responding Officer Marcella West and Officer Samuel Yun arrived at the Union Arch Bridge to discover the man had climbed the safety fence on the bridge and was getting ready to jump off the bridge and into traffic below.  Officer West was able to grab the man and hold onto him, preventing him from jumping while Officer Yun climbed the safety fence and was able to secure the man from the other side.  Additional officers arrived to assist and the man was eventually pulled to safety.  The man was transported to a local hospital for an evaluation.

If it were not for the officers' quick thinking and disregard for their own safety, a tragedy would have occurred and a life would have most certainly been lost.

Commander Gagen of the 2nd District stated, "The quick and courageous actions taken by these officers helped save a life and avoid a tragedy from occurring.  Their heroic efforts showed their dedication to public safety and it is a testament to who they are as Montgomery County Police Officers.  I am truly thankful that the young man will be able to get the help that he needs and I couldn’t be more proud of our officers' actions."

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CTJ

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Release ID: 19-359
Media Contact: mcpnews 
Categories: life-saving-actions