Roof rescue
On routine patrol, I heard a unit ask for assistance.
“Are there any Mandarin-speaking constables on duty tonight? We’ve got a Chinese guy on the roof of a three-level building and he’s threatening to jump off.” As I’m Chinese and speak Mandarin, I volunteered.
At the scene, I saw a skinny agitated guy standing at the edge of the roof of the cordoned-off building. I heard him yell in Mandarin, “I only want to talk to this Chinese cop before I die.”
We had to yell at each other because of the distance between us and the windy night. He had recently broken up with his wife; he was having difficulty finding a decent job and he was undergoing long-term medical treatment for his depression, which had caused him to lose most of his friends.
“I live with no hopes,” he told me with tears in his eyes.
“I understand your situation,” I said to him.
When he finally sat down away from the edge, his body posture indicated to me that I had gained his trust. I said I had a stiff neck from looking up at him for over an hour, and was sure he was thirsty and cold like me so he should come down. He laughed and agreed.