He stood on the edge of the Marvin Griffin Bypass bridge Monday at noon, not knowing whether to jump or not.
A whirlwind of family troubles and mental stress had driven him to this point. Should he end his life now?
Bainbridge Public Safety officer Jack Bunting’s answer was no.
He approached the man in trouble on the bridge Monday and reached out on a personal level. Joy was a veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Bunting was also a veteran. He talked with the man balancing on the bridge’s edge about what it means to be brothers-in-arms. Eventually, he crawled back over to safety.
It’s incredible that Bunting was at the right place, at the right time for these strenuous circumstances. How else could the man have been convinced not to jump?
What it took was someone who knew where he was coming from.
Luckily, it was Bunting standing up there with him, expressing his understanding, letting him know that they were in this together.
It took minutes for Bunting to appear on the scene, and only a few more for Decatur County Sheriffs to be in position to control traffic.
A Decatur County EMS vehicle was parked directly below the bridge, ready to handle any situation. A fire truck pulled up close, ready to use its ladder if needed. Everyone responded and was ready for emergency action.
Bunting stopped a bad situation from happening and turned it around.
The community is truly blessed to have police that have hearts, souls.