A policeman captured on film preventing a man from committing suicide at a metro station in Colombia’s second city, Medellin, will be given an award by the national police director for his bravery.
Luis Alfonso Ramirez Ramirez has been named ‘policeman of the month’ after the remarkable footage from the metro station was released on Tuesday. It shows the teenage policeman saving a man’s life, catching him almost in mid-air as he attempts to jump out in front of an oncoming metro train.
Alfonso was given yesterday off to travel to Bogota, where he will on Wednesday receive recognition for his heroic act.
The man who attempted to take his own life is reportedly now receiving psychological and social support.
The Medellin metro system told Colombia Reports that they never release information about how many suicides and attempted suicides take place in the metro, due to reports indicating that the publication of such information may influence other people to attempt to take their lives in this way.
This is the first time that the metro system has revealed footage of a suicide attempt.
According to the most recent National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE) report on suicides in Colombia, 116 of the 12,462 deaths that occurred in Medellin in 2011 were listed as suicides. However, the place or method of suicide is not specified.
Another DANE report indicates that in 2011, of the total 29,077 deaths recorded in the department of Antioquia, 2,685 occurred in a place categorized as ‘public travel’.
Sources
- Communication with spokesperson for Medellin Metro
- Condecoran hoy al policía que salvó la vida de un suicida en el metro de Medellín (Caracol)
- Policía héroe: Salvó a suicida que se lanzó al paso del Metro en Medellín (Santa Fe)
- Defunciones por grupos de edad y sexo, según departamento, municipio de residencia y grupos de causas de defunción (lista de causas agrupadas 6/67 cie-10 de ops) (DANE)
- Defunciones por sitio donde ocurrió la defunción, según departamento de ocurrencia y régimen de seguridad social (DANE)