PORTLAND — A suicidal woman was saved not once, but twice this weekend by Portland police officers.
The second attempt, which took place just before 7 p.m. Sunday, forced authorities to block motorists in both Portland and South Portland from driving over the Casco Bay Bridge.
Traffic passing between the cities was diverted for about 90 minutes Sunday night as police tried to negotiate with the woman in an attempt to prevent her from leaping into the Fore River.
The crisis ended when Lt. Jim Sweatt and Sgt. John Nueslein jumped over a fence on the west side of the bridge and pinned the woman to the floor of a catwalk.
"It was frightening, because it looked like she was going to do it," Sweatt said.
Sweatt said officers did everything they could to calm the woman, offering her phone calls and food. The situation, which required a lot of manpower, forced police to call their second shift in early.
Portland police said the woman's attempt to jump off the bridge Saturday night turned out to be the more dangerous, because one officer was nearly pulled into the river along with the woman.
Lt. Gary Hutcheson said Sgt. Julie Grabofsky and Officer Jeff Druan saved Officer Josh Wiseman by holding onto his gun belt. Wiseman, who had snagged the woman's arm, was pulled over the side of the bridge by the force of her weight.
The entire rescue was caught on videotape by a cruiser camera, Hutcheson said.
Hutcheson said the woman, who is in her 40s, was taken into police custody before being admitted to Maine Medical Center. The woman was released from the hospital Sunday.
She went right back to the bridge.
Hutcheson said the woman cannot be arrested because she did not commit a crime.
"There is nothing else we can can do," he said, "but keep saving her life."
Staff Writer Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at:
dhoey@pressherald.com
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