ROCKLAND, Maine — City police saved a man Wednesday evening who tried to commit suicide by hanging himself from a tree.
Officers Scott Redmun, Jacob Shirey, and Sgt. Matthew Lindahl responded shortly before 7 p.m. to a report of a suicidal man. Officers arrived at the waterfront between the Apprenticeshop and SteelPro to find a 30-year-old man in a tree, fastening a rope to it.
Many of Rockland’s officers have specialized training from the National Alliance on Mental Illness in crisis intervention, police said in a news release. Officers attempted to use crisis intervention techniques to calm the man, and get him to come down.
Instead, the man tied the rope around his neck, and jumped from the tree.
Officers held the man up to reduce the rope’s tension on his neck. With the suicide attempt unsuccessful, police said, the man eventually drew a knife from his waistband and cut the rope, falling to the ground.
The man was taken into protective custody at which time he became combative and had to be restrained, police said. He was taken to Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport for treatment.
Charges are pending against the male, after he allegedly spat on one of the officers while at the hospital. The man’s name is not being released as no charges have been filed.