On July 29, 2012, at approximately 8:42 P.M., the Escondido Police Department Communications Center received an emergency call from the Palomar Medical Center reference a distraught patient who was threatening to jump from an internal stairwell. Officers were immediately dispatched and arrived within one minute.
The subject was standing between the fifth and sixth floor threatening to jump over. Chad Brabander, an emergency room technician, was with him in the stairwell trying to convince him not to jump. At some point during the incident, the subject decided to jump over the railing. Brabander was miraculously able to grab the falling man’s wrist and catch him in midair.
Officer Ray Solorio, who was the first officer to arrive on scene, was one floor below and was able to grab the dangling man by his belt and pull him back over the railing and onto the stairwell. The man was taken into protective custody by police officers.
The quick thinking and physical ability of Chad Brabander and Officer Solorio are the sole reason the despondent man is still alive. They should both be commended for their service to the community.
