Salem Police Officers Stop Subject From Jumping Off of Downtown Rooftop

Officers Smith and Demarco quickly ran and grabbed the subject by his pant cuff.

(SALEM) - Salem Police Officers physically caught a Salem man as he jumped off the ledge of a rooftop in downtown Salem on the afternoon of November 20.

Police were dispatched to the downtown area at 2:59 pm when a subject called to say that a suicide was going to happen at the tallest building in Salem. Officers were able to trace the call to the area of the Capital Center Building at 388 State St and saw a subject standing on the edge of the rooftop.

As officers stopped pedestrian traffic on the sidewalk below, Officers David Smith and Omar Demarco went to the rooftop to contact that subject. The subject had thrown some of his possessions onto the ground eleven stories below, and as Officers Demarco and Smith were trying to speak with him, he suddenly threw one leg over the parapet of the rooftop and began to jump off of the roof.

Officers Smith and Demarco quickly ran and grabbed the subject by his pant cuff as he was launching himself over the side of the roof and were able to pull him back onto the safety of the roof. The subject was detained and was transported to Salem Hospital for a mental health evaluation. There were no injuries in the incident.

The Salem Police Department encourages anyone who is experiencing depression and/or suicidal thoughts or who may know of someone experiencing depression or suicidal thoughts to seek immediate help, that twenty four-hour crisis assistance is available in our community through the Northwest Human Services Crisis Hotline at 503-581-5535 or toll free at (800) 560-5535, the Marion County Psychiatric Crisis Center at 503-585-4949, and the Oregon Partnership Lines For Life Suicide Lifeline and Mental Health Crisis Line at 1-800-273-8255. All are staffed 24-hours a day and offer confidential crisis assistance.

Source: News Release from Salem Police Dept.