Officer

California Highway Patrol

12/18/1999

Special Service Award (Silver)

On December 18, 1999, at 4:15 p.m., the Orange County Communications Center received numerous cellular telephone calls of a possible suicide attempt. The woman, according to callers, was sitting on a ledge and hanging over the side of the transition overpass from northbound Interstate 5 to northbound State Route 73. Officer Ricardo Baeza, the first officer to arrive on the scene, observed the woman sitting on the northbound center divider concrete barrier ledge with her legs hanging over the side and her hands down by her sides as if to use them to push herself off of the wall. It appeared to Officer Baeza that the woman was preparing to jump onto the roadway below, a distance of approximately 80 feet. Officer Baeza was able to position himself on the southbound State Route 73 center divider, directly across from the woman, and was attempting to persuade her from jumping. The woman was visibly upset, crying and yelling that she no longer wanted to live. Officer Andrew Alvarez also responded to the scene and positioned himself on the northbound side, south of the distraught woman. As Officer Baeza continued to communicate with the woman and to distract her, Officer Alvarez approached her from the opposite side. He stopped when the woman saw him approaching and continued to scream that she did not want to live and she was going to jump. Sergeant Felipe Lugo, Jr. arriving on the scene, also positioned himself north of the woman opposite Officer Alvarez. Officer Alvarez was able to direct the woman's attention to himself while Sergeant Lugo rushed toward the woman grabbing and pulling her off of the wall and onto the roadway. Officers Baeza, Alvarez, and Sergeant Lugo all descended upon the woman, and after a brief struggle, took her into protective custody. The State Of CA