NJ-EMS

Police sergeant saves man from suicide attempt

A police sergeant flagged down on Academy Street Tuesday afternoon by a man reporting an attempted suicide rushed inside a residence and cut the rope from the neck of a man who hung himself, police said.

Sgt. Anthony Manzo was on patrol at about 1:40 p.m. when a man ran up to his vehicle in the 100 block of Academy Street and said a man inside an apartment had tried to kill himself, police spokesman Sgt. Pedro Medina said Tuesday evening.

Manzo called for New Jersey EMS and ran inside and found a 57-year-old male resident of the apartment hanging from the doorknob by a piece of rope, Medina said.

With the assistance of the man who flagged him down, who Medina did not identify, Manzo carefully pushed the door into the room and cut the rope from the man's neck with a kitchen knife he retrieved from the apartment.

The man was unconscious and barely breathing, so Manzo tilted the man's head back to open his airway and the first aid maneuver led to the man regaining some consciousness, Medina said.

Officer Taja Durling arrived shortly after and assisted in caring for the man, who Trenton EMS rushed to Capital Health System at Fuld hospital. Medina did not publicly identify the victim.A Fuld hospital official said Tuesday night that the victim was recuperating and in stable condition.

Manzo, a well-known 21-year department veteran, is currently the North District patrol sergeant.