Body camera video released by a New Jersey police department shows two officers pulling to safety a 13-year-old boy who was threatening to jump from the third-floor ledge of a building.
Sgt. Anthony Barbosa and Officer Shaquille Johnson, with the Newark Police Department, are seen in the footage running onto a fire escape at the Youth Consultation Service in Newark and grabbing the teenager by his shirt.
The teen was seen holding onto a chain-link fence with nothing to stop him from falling.
"Don't do that. Don't do that," one officer says. "Listen, we care about you, brother. Don't do that. We don't want you to get hurt."
The officers then help the teen climb through a gap between the fence and a wall and back onto the fire escape.
"We care about you," the second officer says, asking the teenager if he wants to talk.
The teen tells the officers to leave him alone, but they continue to encourage him to talk to them.
"Whatever is on your mind, we're listening," the first officer says. "We'll sit right here and talk to you."
The incident happened Monday at around 5 p.m. Newark Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose praised Johnson and Barbosa for saving the boy's life.
“Preservation of a life is always our goal, but it’s clear that these officers exercised exceptional compassion and the care needed to ensure that this frightening scenario had a positive ending," Ambrose said in a statement on Facebook.
Barbosa told News 12 New Jersey that his only thought was to get the teenager off the ledge of the building.
"I have a nephew who is 13 years old," he said at a news conference. "My thing is, get this kid off this ledge to safety."
A woman who answered the phone at the Youth Consultation Service declined to comment. The organization, which also has locations in Hackensack and Somerdale, provides support for families with children who have experienced trauma, been separated from their loved ones or have special needs.
The boy was taken to the hospital for evaluation after the incident, police said.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.