Port Authority Police Use Facebook to Communicate With Suicidal Teen
Finally, a story involving a teenager using Facebook that doesn’t end badly. On Tuesday, a suicidal young man posted to the social network that he was contemplating jumping off the George Washington Bridge, but the cops saw the message just in time.
The 18-year-old (his identity isn’t being released) wrote “I am thinking about jumping” along with a picture of the bridge that connects New York and New Jersey. One of his friends saw the message and contacted Port Authority officials, where Lt. Thomas Michaels picked up the phone. He and a colleague found the profile and kept in contact with him to prevent him from actually climbing the bridge.
The teenager contacted Lt. Michaels later, after his initial contact, and told them he was riding on a public bus nearby the bridge. ”It was clear the kid was in a bad way,” Lt. Michaels told NBC News. Police met up with the bus and the teenage then volunteered himself to be taken to a hospital for evaluation.
This is the first time the Port Authority Police Department have used social media to contact someone in peril. “It is a huge success,” said a spokesperson.