Officers Rescue 'Distraught' Man From I-95 Bridge In Groton, Police Say

GROTON, CT — Police rescued a distraught man from the Gold Star Bridge on I-95 in an incident Sunday.

The Groton Emergency Communications Center received a radio call from Groton Ambulance personnel who were crossing the bridge at 4:48 p.m. Ambulance personnel said that a man had one leg over the top of the bridge's security barrier.

Town of Groton police officers Bryan Albee and Cristopher Brillon spotted the distressed man straddling the bridge security barrier.

Officers spoke with the man, who eventually asked if Albee would give him a hug. Albee agreed and told the man that if he came down, he would give him a hug.

The man came down from the security barrier, and Albee slowly walked toward him. They embraced and continued talking, police said.

State police arrived and assumed control of the investigation.

"However, due to the positive rapport Officer Albee had established with the man, he accompanied him to a local hospital in a Groton Ambulance," police said in a statement.

The man was taken to Backus Hospital in Norwich for further evaluation.

"Thanks to quick-thinking and compassionate Groton first responders, a crisis was averted and a distraught man is getting the mental health assistance he needed," police said in a statement.

Body cam footage of the incident is available here.

Anyone experiencing a mental health crisis, or who sees someone in crisis, should call 911, 211 or 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.