'I'll hug you, man': Arizona police officer talks man down from bridge

CHANDLER, Arizona (STORYFUL) -- A police officer in Chandler, Arizona was praised for his compassion for talking a suicidal man off a bridge and hugging him on March 29th.

Officer Little stood alone on the bridge over the Price Freeway and told his colleagues over radio to stay off the bridge so they wouldn’t “freak” the man out.

Little’s body-worn camera captured his interaction with the man, whom police say was 26 years old.

“I’ll hug you man, I don’t care. Just come up here, I just want to talk to you,” Little told the man. “I’m not lying, man, I will give you that hug.”

Little continues to plead with the man to come back over the protective fence. Eventually, the man climbs back over and as he reaches the ground, Little calls him over for a hug, jokingly adding, “Just don’t grab my gun, alright?”

Radioing his fellow officers, Little is heard saying, “2-4-6. I’m hugging him, and he’s off the fence.”

The Chandler Police Department praised Little and said, “the compassion Officer Little showed is a common occurrence with the men and women of the Chandler Police Department.”