These courageous NYPD cops are among scores of officers being trained to deal with jumpers on city bridges amid a troubling recent increase in suicides.
So far this year, there have been 11 suicides at the George Washington Bridge, compared with 15 for all of last year. That’s in addition to 40 other attempted suicides stopped by cops on the span.
Given the alarming numbers, the department is training more officers to deal with jumpers — including sending more of them to practice climbing the structures, including the Verrazano Bridge.
On Sunday morning, a 47-year-old Staten Island dad jumped to his death from the Verrazano after stabbing his wife in the chest.
“The George Washington and Verrazano bridges have always been a destination for suicidal people looking for a way out,” a law-enforcement source told The Post on Monday.
“It’s gotten to a point where we are really ramping up training to respond to these situations and stop these people from jumping.”