New dad of triplets lauded for saving suicidal man

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Senator Harckham, on right.

CARMEL – Deputy Kevin Osika often thinks about the 36-year-old man who is alive today thanks to his quick action and heroism.

The three-year member of the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office was patrolling in the Town of Southeast on May 27 when the radio in his squad car reported a possible jumper after the county’s 911 center received several calls from concerned motorists reporting a vehicle parked along westbound I-84 in the vicinity of the Veterans Memorial Bridge that carries the interstate over Routes 6 and 22 with a man holding a piece of paper standing on the edge of the span.

Sheriff’s Deputy Osika and Sgt. Thomas Lee were in the neighborhood. Osika was on the scene within two minutes and observed the man with his arms raised as though he was praying while teetering along the edge of the bridge.

The deputy cautiously approached the individual from behind and as he was about to jump, grabbed the man and wrestled him to the ground.

Sgt. Lee pulled up at that moment and assisted with handcuffing the suicidal subject who reportedly told authorities that he wanted to die.

A suicide note was found in his possession.

State Senator Peter Harckham visited the sheriff’s office and presented the hero cop with New York State’s First Responder of the Month for Heroism Award for his actions that saved a life.

Harckham told a gathering of some two dozen members of the sheriff’s office and Osika’s family that “Millions of years of biology have genetically trained us to run away from danger but on a daily basis, members of law enforcement and the emergency services community run towards danger when the call comes. Our heroes, both paid and volunteer, treat those in need compassionately, professionally and with dignity. Deputy Osika deserves the thanks of our community as do all law enforcement partners and first responders.”

The senator has created the First Responder of the Month Award and Deputy Osika received the very first honor. “We are so proud of you and value your professionalism, training and selflessness,” he told the young deputy who was recently blessed with the birth of identical triplets.

The soft spoken Osika said he was “proud to have been able to help another person in need. The boys keep my wife and I busy these days. I am just glad the outcome turned out the way it did.”

Sheriff Robert Langley, Captain Harry Tompkins and Sgt. Lee also commended the deputy.

“If Deputy Osika had hesitated in his actions, a much different outcome would have been the result,” said Tompkins.

Sgt. Lee also lauded Deputy Osika for “going well beyond the call of duty by placing his own life at risk of falling off the bridge while wrestling to save the life of the individual.”




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