Police body camera video shows officer Christopher Harris saying, “come here, come here,” as the teen runs toward the tracks. Harris tackles her to the ground, preventing harm within 20 feet of the train.
Waukegan police responded about 1:40 a.m. Friday December 7, 2018 to a call for help from a woman who reported that her sister was going to take her own life by standing in front of a train near South Avenue and the railroad crossing in Waukegan.
Officers were able to locate the teen by “pinging” her cellphone for geolocation.
When police officers arrived on the scene, they discovered the teen near the tracks while a train was approaching. A police body cam video in darkness shows the teen walking out from behind a railroad mechanical shed, and walking towards the train tracks while the train is approaching.
The teen ignored the police officer’s request to stop approaching the railroad tracks. Police Officer Christopher Harris is heard saying, ‘Come here, come here.’ He then runs to restrain the teen as she was headed for the tracks. The teen did not stop and police officer Christopher Harris stopped her by tackling her.
The teen, was not injured, but was transported to an area hospital for psychiatric evaluation.
“I am extremely proud of these officers who, through their heroic actions, saved the life of a young woman. I am just as proud of our dispatch professionals who utilized their resources to locate the area of where this young woman was, and directed the responding officers to find her.”
— Wayne Walles, Waukegan Chief of Police
The attached body camera clip link is from the view of Officer Christopher Harris. The other officer seen in the video is K-9 Officer A. Orozco. The dispatchers on duty during the incident were Supervisor R. Kumar, Dispatcher D. Magnuson, Dispatcher A. Zelvis, and Dispatcher T. Butler.
The Waukegan Police Department took the opportunity as a teaching lesson to remind all of those who are experiencing suicidal thoughts to call 911 or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
^^ MOBILE? USE VOICE MIC ^^
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