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| Rookie deputy credited with averting suicide |
| By Syracuse Post Standard |
| Published: 07/25/2005 |
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A rookie deputy at the justice center jail saved an inmate's life by preventing the man from hanging himself, jail officials said last Tuesday. Deputy Tobian Delaney, who finished his field training in late May, was supervising a "general population" pod at 6:15 p.m. July 15 when he saw an inmate come out of his cell with sheets tied around his neck, said Anthony Callisto, chief of the Onondaga County (N.Y.) Sheriff's Office custody division. "The inmate is on the upper tier and shouts out, 'I can't take this anymore,' " Callisto said. Delaney ordered the inmate to stop, return to his cell and they could talk. The 47-year-old inmate, whom officials did not name, then tied the other end of the sheet around the tier railing and started to climb over. Callisto said Delaney radioed for help and ran toward the inmate, pulling him off the railing. He then handcuffed him on the floor while waiting for backup. "It's a 14-foot drop," Callisto said. "If he'd gone over, he could have snapped his neck. Deputy Delaney's quick actions saved his life." Delaney said adrenaline kicked in quickly. "It was a little shocking at first," he said. "It all happened really fast." As the incident unfolded, Delaney said he ordered other inmates into their cells, but some were concerned enough to call out to him, offering help if he needed it. He didn't, although he still replays what happened in his mind, wondering if he did all he was supposed to. Callisto assured him he did. "This was a real-life test that he passed with flying colors," Callisto said Tuesday. Following the incident, the inmate was seen by a nurse at the jail and is now on constant watch, Callisto said. The man had been booked into jail at the end of May on charges of drug possession, criminal mischief, auto-stripping and possession of burglary tools. Callisto said he's pleased Delaney's intensive training in the academy paid off. "That sets people up to do the right thing - call it up, get up there and stop the bad thing from happening," Callisto said. "He did his job and did it well." |
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