Can a hug prevent suicide?

Officer Ron Little of the Chandler, Arizona, Police Department, showed up recently when a 26-year-old man climbed over a fence on an overpass, intending to jump down into speeding traffic on the Price Freeway. Little managed to talk him back to safety, by offering him a hug.

It happened on March 29, but the department just posted chest-cam footage online. First, Little radioed in and told everyone to stay off the bridge because he didn't want to scare the jumper. Then he told him his name, and offered to give him a hug if he climbed back over the fence. Little kept talking about the hug for about five minutes, until the man climbed back to safety. He got the hug as promised, and cried a little on the officer's shoulder. The video ends with them walking off the bridge together.