‘Exceptional men and women.’ Rock Hill police officers save man on I-77 bridge
Editor’s note: This article references suicide. If you or anyone you know is struggling, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
The radio crackled to life around 5 p.m. in the patrol car of Rock Hill police officer 22-year-old Jordan Well.
In another car, patrol officer Justin McClurkin, 27, heard the same thing: a welfare check for a man in crisis on a bridge over I-77. The caller didn’t know which bridge.
In a flash, a routine day on Sunday, June 30 turned into race against the clock — and a successful effort to save a man suffering a mental health crisis.
Well raced north on Interstate 77 from Exit 79. He saw the man on the Eden Terrace bridge over the busiest highway in South Carolina. That’s between Exit 79 and Exit 82.
“He was standing over the southbound side, standing at the railing,” Well recalled during an interview with The Herald.
Well called over the radio so other officers would know where the man was. Well got off the highway and rushed to Eden Terrace to reach the bridge. He blocked the road with his car.
Well leaped out of his car and put his hands up in an ”everything is OK” gesture.
“I told him I was just there to talk, to help him,” Well said.
Rock Hill police response
Two years earlier, Well, a Columbia native, was a cadet at the Citadel in Charleston ready to launch into life after graduation. Now, he was rushing to stop a stranger on a bridge.
“My first thought was I don’t want to move too aggressively, to be calm, and see if he wanted to talk,” Well said.
Rock Hill Sgt. Keenan McCrorey coordinated police response as he sped toward the scene. He’s known for his cool under pressure after spending years as the department’s bomb technician.
McClurkin came in to the bridge from the opposite direction. He’s a big man — around 6 feet 3 inches. He’s from Chester, with 3-plus years on Rock Hill patrol after four years in the Army.
Responding officers put to use their crisis intervention training, said department spokesman Lt. Michael Chavis. They’re taught to first establish a rapport with someone in crisis, he said.
But this was not training. And the two officers could not wait for a sergeant or lieutenant to arrive.
The man on the bridge had his back to McClurkin. The two young cops locked eyes and knew what to do next.
Well kept the man’s attention. McClurkin crept up behind the man, rushed in, grabbed him and pulled him backward onto the pavement.
“I pulled him back to get him safe,” McClurkin said.
Supervisors arrived almost immediately, and the officers talked to the man. Well drove the man to a hospital, where he was evaluated and treated.
‘Assistance he needed’
McClurkin’s and Well’s shift ended after the bridge incident, at 6 p.m., and both men went home. The name of the man helped off the bridge has not been released by the police department.
“I am extremely proud of the dedication our officers have in serving our community,” said Rock Hill Police Chief Chris Watts, who made an unusual appearance at a 6 a.m. roll call meeting on July 4th to commend the officers. “These two officers did an outstanding job to ensure this citizen received the assistance he needed and knew they cared. This is just another example of the exceptional men and women who serve every day at the Rock Hill Police Department.”
A redacted police report shows just a single line of what happened, and the men were humble when asked about the incident.
Well said he became a police officer “to make a difference in people’s lives.” His father is a firefighter.
McClurkin humbly said he’s a police officer because he wants to help people.
