A man in Silver Spring climbed over the railing of a sixth-floor balcony during a mental health crisis and tried to jump, but two Montgomery County police officers caught him by the arms and held on until help arrived. Officers Lanham and Emiliano were honored with Lifesaving Awards for the rescue, which happened on the 3300 block of University Boulevard West.
According to The MoCo Show, the man's mother had called police about her adult son experiencing a mental health crisis, and officers had previously responded to the same location, though police said the earlier circumstances had not warranted an emergency evaluation petition. This time was different. Police said the man had removed his clothes, laid them out, and climbed over the sixth-floor balcony railing, according to dailyvoice.com.
Cooperative, Then a Sudden Jump Attempt
The man was initially cooperative with police before he suddenly attempted to jump, the outlet reported. As he went over the railing, Officer Emiliano grabbed one of his arms while Officer Lanham grabbed his other side. The officers handcuffed one of his wrists to the railing and held him there until additional officers arrived on scene.
A second officer then joined to help secure the situation, and the responders helped him back over it and onto the balcony, per the account from wjla.com. The man was then transported to a hospital for an emergency evaluation, where police said an emergency evaluation petition could be completed.
Footage Released, Awards Given
Montgomery County police shared body-camera footage of the incident on Friday, November 6. Lanham and Emiliano received Lifesaving Awards for their actions. The police department said the incident ended with a life saved and underscored the impact officers can make, stating, “What started as a critical moment ended with a life saved and a reminder of the difference our officers can make when it matters most.”
Under Maryland law, a petition for an emergency evaluation can be made by certain licensed health professionals, a health officer or designee who examined the individual, a peace officer who personally observed the person's behavior, or any other interested person, according to the Maryland General Assembly.
A Routine but Demanding Part of the Job
Calls like this one are far from rare for Montgomery County police. A 2021 report from CNS Maryland found that officers respond to an average of 19 mental health situations a day, and that these calls typically take longer to resolve than other 911 calls. The same report noted that roughly a third of police responses to mental health situations end in involuntary hospitalization through an emergency evaluation petition.
The county's 24-hour crisis center fields more than 100 calls and 15 walk-ins a day, while its Mobile Crisis Team averages 40 responses a month, per the CNS Maryland report. At the time, approximately 58% of county officers had completed a 40-hour crisis intervention training program designed to prepare them for exactly these kinds of encounters.
The county's Crisis Center also operates Mobile Crisis Outreach Teams that can respond anywhere in Montgomery County, teaming up with police when there may be a threat to public safety, according to the county's Department of Health and Human Services. A more recent county oversight report indicates that the vast majority of calls to 988 and the Montgomery County Crisis Hotline, 98.1% of them, are resolved over the phone without any police response at all.
