EDISON — Through a team effort, police provided lifesaving help to a township man who attempted to commit suicide.
By distracting the 43-year-old man, police were able to retrieve a 13-inch butcher knife he was holding to his neck and subdue him, according to Lt. Sal Filannino.
“The officers there did a great job,” he said.
Officers Keith Hahn and Brian Freund were dispatched to a Genova Court home on April 28 after receiving a report about the man at 6:44 p.m.
After being unable to get in through the front door of the home, the officers entered through the unlocked back door and got no response when they called out to the man, Filannino said.
Sgt. Keith Stein also responded to the scene, along with Officer Leslie Sanchez and Amtrak Police Officer Keith Fuchigami.
It was unclear how Fuchigami became aware of the situation, according to police.
The officers found a suicide note on the stairs and then heard the resident yell from a second-floor bedroom, Filaninno said.
Police found the man lying in bed, holding the knife to his neck with both hands.
Hahn asked the man if there were someone with whom he would like to speak, and the man asked to talk with his father. Hahn used his cellphone to call the man’s father, and as the man reached out for the phone, the officers took the opportunity to disarm and subdue him.
According to Filannino, the man had minor lacerations on his neck and wrists, and was taken to receive medical treatment.
— Jessica D’Amico