O.P.P. officers recognized
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Two Oxford County O.P.P. constables are being commended for their efforts in saving the life of a 14-year old girl in Tillsonburg last spring.
“On May 30, 2012 we were dispatched to a call with a potential suicidal female,” said Constable Nancy Hodgkin. “A young female that was standing on the rail bridge over Participark in Tillsonburg.”
The rail bridge is enclosed by a large fence - the 14-year old girl had walked to the outside of the fence and along the rail bridge, putting herself in a very dangerous and life-threating position 23 metres off the ground.
“I was the first officer on the scene – I went out to the bridge where the female was, engaged in conversation and convinced her to give me her hands so I could secure her,” said Hodgkin.
Shortly after about a minute later, the second officer arrived on the scene and helped to comfort the girl and further secure her, ensuring that she didn’t slip or fall.
“She was on the opposite side of the fence, an 8 foot chain-link fence. She had negotiated her way around or scaled the outside of the fence to about the middle of the bridge,” explained Hodgkin.
The second officer on scene, Constable Katherine Burt, positioned herself to assist Constable Hodgkin with the unfolding situation.
“I could see that Nancy had the girl put her hands through the chain-link fence and was holding onto her hands and talking to her,” said Burt.
“I just calmly walked up behind constable Hodgkin, took my handcuffs out and then stepped around Nancy and told the girl ‘I’m just going to put handcuffs on you so you’re safe,” she said noting that she did it quickly and the girl did not resist or fight the officers in any way.
It was imperative that the 14-year old girl cooperate with police because without it said Burt, things could have changed for the worse in an instant. Fortunately Hodgkin was able to gain the girl’s trust and as a result, the teenager was compliant and listened to the officers attending the scene.
Oxford O.P.P. Inspector Tim Clark was pleased with his constable’s hard work and dedication to their jobs.
“It’s great work by both officers,” said Clark. “It’s good to recognize some excellent work and receive a letter from the Commissioner. We like to make them know that they did a good job.”
Burt has been a veteran of the Ontario Provincial Police for 17 years and Hodgkin, a veteran for the past 7 years.
This was the first time both constables had been directly involved with a potential suicide and credit their training and experience as O.P.P. officers in helping de-escalate the situation and in saving the young girls life.
“We often deal with suicidal persons but that’s my first experience with somebody being at risk,” said Hodgkin. “I haven’t deal with anything with this level of seriousness or potential harm.”
Constable Burt agreed and said the situation presented real danger for the girl and knew they had to act quickly to avert a possible tragedy.
“I think this was also my first experience with going to a scene where the person really would have been in trouble if they had fallen or jumped off that bridge,” added Burt.
While it was a high-risk situation for everyone involved, fortunately it had a happy ending. The teenage girl received medical attention after she was
returned to safety and police then did a follow-up with the girl’s family.
It was the first time both constables have been recognized for their work as members of the O.P.P.
“I’m honoured that the Commissioner has taken the time to note what we’ve done. It’s nice to be recognized,” said Hodgkin. “However, anything that we did that day, I think would be expected from any of our colleagues and from anybody that’s in this line of work.”