Police officer who saved suicidal man up for award
Sgt Beaumont climbed gantry over M6
A HEROIC police officer who climbed a gantry over the M6 to talk down a suicidal man has been nominated for a national award.
Sgt Carl Beaumont put his own safety to one side as he climbed the giant messaging board over the motorway near to Junction 3 at Coventry.
He spent 35 minutes chatting to the man who was threatening to jump into the path of oncoming traffic, and gaining his trust.
They eventually came down together and the man gave Sgt Beaumont a hug.
The Warwickshire Police officer’s actions have now seen him nominated for a national Police Bravery Award by the Police Federation.
The drama began after the man climbed the mes- saging board in July last year.
Sgt Beaumont, who has 18 years of service, was first on the scene and immediately put a rolling closure in place for traffic on the M6.
Instead of waiting for a negotiator to arrive, the officer made the decision to climb the gantry and spent over half an hour winning the man’s trust, while some motorists hurled abuse and obscenities at the man and goaded him to jump.
However, thanks to Sgt Beaumont’s bravery and kindness, the man came down and hugged Sgt Beaumont once safely on the ground.
The man was given immediate medical attention and was later sectioned under the Mental Health Act.
Simon Payne, chairman of Warwickshire Police Federation, said: “Carl should rightly be commended for his courage and bravery in putting his own safety aside and placing himself on the gantry.
“He showed excellent negotiation skills and a caring attitude which resulted in a safe resolution to a life threatening situation.”
The 71 nominees and eventual regional winners will be recognised by the Federation in July.
Chief Constable of Warwickshire Police, Martin Jelley, added: “Carl’s actions exemplify our force’s ambition at being great at protecting the most vulnerable, by displaying courage and commitment in bringing this incident to a safe conclusion.
“As well as assisting this individual, Carl’s actions prevented a major motorway network being closed for a prolonged period of time.”