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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Police closed both directions of Interstate 40 and Wyoming Boulevard Wednesday afternoon due to a person who threatened to jump from the bridge above the freeway, according to a department spokesman.

The man, who had been standing on a shoe-width ledge attached to a light pole, was safely brought down around 3 p.m., said Officer Simon Drobik, a spokesman with the Albuquerque Police Department.

“I know there’s going to be a lot of debate and there always is when we shut down a major intersection like that,” Drobik said. “I’d remind people that if this was your son or loved one, how far would you want APD to go to save him?”

Around 12:30 p.m. police received a call about a man standing on the other side of the fence on a light post above the interstate, Drobik said. Officers responded to the scene to try to talk him down.

“He had spoken to the male officers that were there and they were doing a good job,” Drobik said. “But he said all his life he had been abused by males and he wanted to talk to a female officer.”

Officers Kelsey Lueckenhoff and Bonnie Briones with the crisis negotiation team struck up a rapport with the man and were able to convince him to come down the fire truck ladder after about 45 minutes, Drobik said.

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“They saved the day,” he said.

The officers’ job was made more difficult by passersby who yelled at the man to jump and kill himself, Drobik said.

“I know it’s frustrating but he’s a human being and deserves every resource we have available to get him off this ledge safely,” Drobik said. “Shame on those residents who did this.”

Staff photographer Roberto Rosales contributed to this report

— This is a developing story. Additional information will be added as it becomes available.

