A NYPD lieutenant saved a homeless man from committing suicide in a subway station after he heard the man whisper 'I’m going to throw ...
A NYPD lieutenant saved a homeless man from committing suicide in a subway station after he heard the man whisper 'I’m going to throw myself in front of the train.'
The scary incident happened around 1am on Thursday when a group of officers were standing on the A train platform of 207th St. station.
Authorities were there as part of the department's Homeless Outreach Unit, which looks to assist vulnerable residents who've bunkered down in subway stations amid the pandemic.
Among them was Lt. Ryan Murphy, who noticed a nearby man was visibly upset and bothered.
NYPD Lt. Ryan Murphy's bodycam camera captured the moment he saved a homeless man jumping in front of a subway car
Bodycam footage from the scene shows Lt.Murphy inside the station when the homeless man approaches the platform edge.
'Good morning, sir. Watch out!' Lt.Murphy said, as the homeless man neared the platform edge.
At that moment the A Train pulled into the station.
'I (heard) him mutter, "I’m just going to throw in myself in front of the train,'" Lt. Murphy told the New York Daily News.
'He had a gym bag over his shoulder. He turned straight even with the edge of the platform and went to drop the bag to the ground...You can see, you can feel that he was going for it.'
Lt. Murphy said he heard the man say 'I’m just going to throw in myself in front of the train' before he lunged to grab him
Luckily, Lt. Murphy quickly intervened and grabbed the man before he could jump off the platform's edge in front of the train.
'But I closed the distance and I was able to grab him, spin him and pull him back,' Lt. Murphy said.
According to Officer Serbay Gobelek, a member of the NYPD’s Homeless Outreach Unit, said the man had previously shared suicidal thoughts with NYPD nurses at the station who ran to get help.
He was later admitted to the Harlem Hospital. Gobelek said the man was hearing voices in his head that told him to take his own life.
Lt. Murphy (pictured) was at 207th St. station with a group of officers in the Homeless Outreach Unit
'He was talking to himself. He said he was going to do it. He was acting in a strange manner,' said Gobelek.
Officer Fidias Peralta, who was also at the subway station when the incident happened, said the NYPD's Homeless Outreach Unit is meant to help homeless residents.
'I’m not an expert,' said Peralta. 'But you talk to them like any person, tell them to calm down and tell them you’re going to get help.'
Although the specific details surrounding the man's suicide attempt have not been disclosed, a catalyst may have involved overcrowding at a local homeless shelter amid the pandemic.
New York Daily News reports the man had spoke to a television reporter just moments before the incident about his uncertain living situation.
He said he'd left a crowded city shelter on Ward's Island to live in the subway because he thought he'd be less likely to catch COVID-19 there.
But as New York City officials attempt to remove squatting homeless residents from subway stations, the man said he had nowhere to go.
'Where do they want me to go?' The weather has not yet broken, and we are scared to go to the shelter because of the pandemic,' he said.
The streets of New York City have emptied since the COVID-19 lockdown was implemented in March, but staffers with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said many homeless residents have settled onto subway trains.
City officials said they're working to resolve the influx of homeless residents still on the subway.
Many homeless residents have relocated to New York City's subway system after ridership dropped amid the outbreak
They announced this week that subway stations will be closed overnight to allow for cleaning and disinfection.
It is the first time scheduled overnight service has ever been halted by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
'We’ve never been here before,' said Gov. Andrew Cuomo of the decision to halt service.
'This is going to be one of the most aggressive, creative, challenging undertakings that the M.T.A. has done.'
Additionally, crime spiked in the subway this week despite a 90 percent decrease in ridership.
There have complaints of nudity, sexual activity, human waste and even arson.
Mayor Bill de Blasio revealed the city will implement 230 new 'safe haven' beds for homeless residents.
MTA workers said they're concerned COVID-19 will keep spreading if the subway is not cleared out each night
He said: 'These are the kinds of beds and facilities that help us get people immediately off the street, who have reached that point where they’re ready to finally come in and accept shelter and change their lives and, hopefully, never, ever go back to the streets.'
But MTA workers want a more dire plan from city officials.
'I think they should shut down at least from like midnight to 5 and clean up the trains, clean up the areas where the employees are. Get it all fresh and ready for the next day of essential workers,' said Hicks.
MTA said subway trains are cleaned daily and the entirety of their fleet are cleaned every 72 hours.
Coalition for the Homeless reports that there were 62,679 homeless people as of January 2020, while the Department of Housing and Urban Development said the number was closer to 78,604 in a 2019 report.
More than 340 homeless New Yorkers have been diagnosed with COVID-19.
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