A 33-year-old man called 911 at approximately 2:48 p.m. on Monday to tell a Secaucus police dispatcher he was preparing to jump off the Harmon Cove bridge, which spans active railroad tracks near Harmon Cove Towers off Seaview Drive. Officer Kiril Petrov and his partner, Robert Schaffer, arrived to find the man standing on the ledge on the opposite side of the fence, clinging to it above the tracks below.
According to Hudson County View, Petrov engaged the man in conversation and ultimately calmed him enough to convince him to come down from the bridge and seek medical attention. Police said the man was distraught over the recent death of his fiancé. He was transported to Hackensack University Medical Center for evaluation, according to the outlet's report.
Secaucus Police Chief Dennis Miller said he was extremely proud of Petrov's actions and credited the dispatcher, responding officers and supervisors with preserving the man's life. Miller said the department's training reinforced Petrov's response and that officers had provided help to someone dealing with depression and suicidal tendencies. Miller announced that Petrov is being recognized for talking the man down, calling the incident an example of how police officers are true guardians of the community, the report notes.
A Department With Prior Bridge Rescues
This is not the first time Secaucus officers have intervened on a local bridge. In August 2020, officers talked down and physically pulled a man off the Route 3 East bridge over the Hackensack River, according to Patch. The article also references an April 2019 incident involving the same Route 3 East span.
Following acute mental health interventions, the department also relies on a therapy dog named Oakley, introduced in the summer of 2020, to visit the man later, Patch reported. Petrov himself has a history of emergency response: in June 2020, he helped evacuate trapped residents and treat a severely burned victim during a residential fire on Radio Avenue, according to Police1.
A Disciplinary Record Alongside the Commendations
Petrov's record with the department is not limited to commendations. He was suspended twice in 2024 — a 30-day suspension for submitting a false overtime slip tied to a November 2023 incident, and a far longer 210-day suspension for using a mobile phone app while on duty to secretly GPS-track his girlfriend's vehicle — according to internal affairs reporting from Hudson County View. That same November 2023 period included a traffic stop Petrov and his patrol partner conducted on Plaza Drive that recovered more than 1,800 ecstasy pills and 4.5 ounces of cocaine, as Patch reported at the time.
State Crisis Line Sees Rising Demand
Miller reminded the public about the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and urged anyone feeling suicidal to call 911 immediately. Demand on that state system has grown sharply: New Jersey's 988 call centers handled more than 62,000 calls over a six-month span in 2025, according to NJ Spotlight News. The report also discussed permanent funding for 988 operations.
New Jersey has an integrated 988 crisis-response system. According to NJ.gov's "Improving Access to 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Services" document, New Jersey averaged a 79% in-state call answer rate during 988's first two years and provided an in-state response to 58% of chats. According to an NJ.gov funding document, each Mobile Crisis Outreach Response Team was anticipated to respond, on average, to two mobile crisis calls per eight-hour shift.
The Harmon Cove bridge itself sits above a rail corridor. The article also mentions the Meadowlands Parkway bridge near Harmon Cove Towers.
