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Port Authority Police Officer Jesse Turano saved a jumper on the George Washington Bridge Tuesday.

(Frances Micklow/The Star-Ledger)

FORT LEE — Preventing a man from jumping off the George Washington Bridge is an heroic feat, that's for sure.

But when you do it over and over, the word "superhero" comes to mind.

Port Authority Police Officer Jesse Turano was patrolling the bridge in his cruiser at about 10 p.m. Tuesday, toward the end of his regular shift, when he got a call about a pedestrian who had ignored a security guard’s order not to venture onto the closed walkway on the north side of the bridge’s upper level.

Turano, a seven-year veteran assigned to the bridge since 2010, cruised the far-right lane, closest to the walkway, where first he encountered the female security guard and then the man who had ignored her order.

"I asked him to stop several times and he refused," said Turano, 33, who lives in West Milford. "I kept driving, and as I looked at him I got the sense that he was possibly emotionally disturbed. I could just tell by his mannerisms and his behavior."

In the nick of time, Turano chased down the would-be jumper, grabbed him around the waist and hauled him back to safety just as the man tried to fling himself over the railing.

Port Authority spokesman Steve Coleman said Wednesday that Turano has saved at least four other would-be jumpers on this bridge this year.

Turano shrugged off the figure and said it wasn’t something he and other officers kept track of.

Turano said he tried to stop the man by turning on his flashers, and eventually got out of his cruiser and climbed over the railing separating the bridge roadway from the walkway.

He said he followed the man as he walked at an increasingly brisk pace, his hands in his pockets, clearly trying to keep his distance from the officer. The water side of the walkway is bound by a three-foot masonry wall, topped by a metal railing extending up another couple of feet.

Turano ordered the man several times to take his hands out of his pockets. When he finally did, the officer rushed him.

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"All of a sudden he put his hands on the outer railing," Turano said. "He put his foot on the cement, and he went to kick off the cement, and I just jumped at him. I put my right arm around his waist, then I wrapped my left arm around him, and once I got a secure grip on him I used my body weight to pull him down onto the walkway.

"I handcuffed him for both of our safety, then called for back up."

Turano rode in the ambulance with the man to Bergen Regional Medical Center, where he was admitted for psychological evaluation. The man, who was not identified, told Turano he’d been out of work for three years and was tired of looking for a job.

"He said he had enough and he wanted to kill himself," Turano said. "He kept thanking me and I said the best thanks you can give me is if you get yourself some help."

The GWB had a record 43 suicide attempts in 2012, 18 of them resulting in death, the New York Post reported in January.

Bobby Egbert, a spokesman for the Port Authority Policemen’s Benevolent Association, called Turano "an exceptional example of the dedication to duty that these police officers have."

Turano took it in stride.

"I guess its always good if you save somebody’s life," he said. "But I don’t really think about it too much."

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