Tennessee Highway Patrol saves man from jumping off Nashville bridge

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Two Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) troopers helped save a man on the edge of the James Robertson Parkway Bridge who was threatening to jump off of it and onto the street below.

THP was made aware of the man on the bridge around 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

THP sergeants Denney Mitchell and Adam Simpkins from the THP Capital Protection Unit (CPU) got the notification of the man and immediately responded from the State Capitol on Martin Luther King Boulevard.

Once on the scene, the sergeants approached the man.

“I am going to give you a hug, brother, and everything is going to be OK,” Mitchell said in a news release.

Mitchell then pulled him over the railing of the bridge to safety.

Mitchell and Simpkins provided the man with comfort and security until officers from the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department and first responders from the Nashville Fire Department arrived.

“I am impressed but not surprised by the quick and calm response from Sergeants Denney Mitchell and Adam Simpkins,” said THP Colonel Matt Perry in a news release. “Both men have been trained to assist with mental health crisis calls, and I am grateful we are talking about a positive outcome for this man during what is clearly a hard time in his life. Their actions demonstrate one of the many ways that members of the Tennessee Highway Patrol are always ready to help in someone’s time of need.”