Bringing him back
from the edge
Riverdale Boro Local 335’s Bogert
saves suicidal man on bridge
n BY NICK SWEDBERG
Sergeant Greg Bogert was halfway to a hazardous materials
call on the morning of April 25 when he heard an update from
dispatch about a man walking up and down an interstate overpass.
“Now, he’s jumping in front of vehicles on 287,” the 18-year
veteran of the Riverdale Police Department and a member of
Riverdale Boro Local 335 recalls hearing over the radio.
Bogert was first on the scene of the Interstate-287 bridge,
which spans a section of Highway 10.
Dash cam video shows him quickly coming to a stop near a
man in his late 20s or early 30s wearing a white shirt.
“Hey, what’s up man?” Bogert said he called from his squad
window. Moments later, the man took off near the edge of the
bridge. Without pausing, Bogert leaped from his car and sprinted after him.
“I just kept thinking ‘Keep him away from the edge of the
bridge,’” Bogert said.
Social media posts of the video recording went viral in the
days after the 43-year-old officer tackled the man who was
threatening suicide and pinned him to the ground until backup
officers could arrive.
Dealing with suicidal subjects is a fairly common occurrence
for law enforcement officers across the country. A town like Riverdale with a population about 3,000 will still see several such
calls a year.
“Most calls about a suicidal subject to Riverdale police come
from a family member concerned about threats made by a
loved one and end up with an officer helping the suicidal person start the process of getting medical attention,” Bogert said.
Earlier in April, Bogert had another call for a person threatening
self-harm.
“He basically just called us for help,” he said. “The biggest
things with suicide victims or anyone who is thinking about it
is the bravery they need to take that first step and pick up the
phone.”
Shortly after Bogert snatched the man from the edge of the
bridge, officers from the Wanaque Police Department arrived
and helped detain the man. New Jersey state police took custody of him later. Bogert said the Pennsylvania man talked about
family issues he was having while detained on the roadway.
With the intention of eventually becoming a law enforcement
officer, Bogert enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and served four
50
NEW JERSEY COPS
■ MAY 2016
years. He did three deployments in Egypt, Kuwait and Korea.
“That’s why I joined the military…because I really wasn’t
ready for college,” he said.
Bogert was discharged in 1996, put himself through college
and started taking law enforcement entry exams right away before landing in Riverdale’s department.
The video of the dramatic rescue gained widespread attention because it shows that, at a time when national attention
of law enforcement work isn’t always positive, it shows “we are
capable of doing good things,” Bogert said.
“I think the video shows there’s a human element to us,” he
continued. “We’re not robots.”
Bogert thanked Riverdale Police Chief Kevin Smith for allowing him, instead of the department public information officer,
to address media questions about the incident.