GROTON, CONN. — Two Groton Police officers persuaded a man to climb down from the security barrier of the Gold Star Bridge during a mental health crisis on Sunday afternoon. Officers Bryan Albee and Cristopher Brillon engaged with the man for several minutes before he descended from the barrier.

The Groton Emergency Communications Center received a radio call around 4:48 p.m. on Sunday from Groton Ambulance personnel crossing the Gold Star Bridge who reported that a man had one leg over the bridge's security barrier, according to the Town of Groton Police Department. The officers located the man atop the barrier on the northern section of the Interstate 95 South span.

"How can I help?" Albee asked the man, according to body camera footage. "Because I wanna help you man."

As the conversation continued, Albee told the man, "Come on, please don't do it my man. I'm here with you, let's figure it out. I'll do whatever I gotta to do to help you through this brother."

The man asked Albee if he would give him a hug, and the officer told him that if he came down he would do so. The man then climbed down from the security barrier as Albee approached him, and the two embraced and continued talking. "I appreciate that so much my man," Albee said, according to body camera footage.

The Town of Groton Police Department said in a Monday release that officers averted a crisis and that the man is receiving mental health assistance. Connecticut State Police arrived at the scene and took control of the investigation, and officers were assisted by the Groton City Fire Department. The man accompanied Albee to a local hospital in a Groton Ambulance and was transported to Backus Hospital in Norwich for further evaluation, police said.

People experiencing a mental health crisis or who see someone in crisis should call 911, 211, or 988.