King County: At approximately 11pm on August 22, 2017, Trooper Chase Van Cleave responded to a report of a pedestrian on the S.144th St. overpass above NB I-5.
A 19 year old female was standing with both feet over the railing saying that she should jump. Tukwila PD Officer Mike Richardson was on the overpass talking to the individual, trying to get her to come back over the railing. Trooper Van Cleave is a trained negotiator and was asked by Tukwila PD to contact the overpass to speak with the female. During the time it took Trooper Van Cleave to arrive at the overpass, Officer Richardson did an outstanding job keeping the individual occupied by talking to her.
Once Trooper Van Cleave arrived he was escorted near the female by Officer Richardson. Trooper Van Cleave began speaking with her and noticed her behavior was getting more dangerous as she started a countdown to jump off the overpass. Trooper Van Cleave was able to get her to stop the countdown and get her to bring one leg back over the railing. She asked about making a phone call and allowed Trooper Van Cleave to come close to give her his phone. She took the phone and allowed Trooper Van Cleave to stay close at which time he was able to grab her and pull her over the railing to safety. The individual was checked out by the Tukwila Fire Dept. precautionary even though she was claiming no injuries. She was transported to the hospital for a mental evaluation.
Trooper Van Cleave and Officer Richardson did an exceptional job bringing this incident to an end without the loss of life. Officer Richardson was instrumental in preventing this individual from jumping which allowed Trooper Van Cleave to get into position where he could assist in bringing this to a close.
Both Trooper Van Cleave and Officer Richardson should be commended for their decisive actions and working together to bring this individual to safety.
