Constable: Golden Gate cop, suicide experts agree listening is key

Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct the date of the event.

During a career that saw him talk to more than 200 suicidal people clinging to the ledge of the Golden Gate Bridge, police officer Kevin Briggs possessed an uncanny ability to offer hope. Only two of those troubled souls leapt to their deaths in front of him.

"So much is just listening," says Briggs, author of "Guardian of the Golden Gate: Protecting the Line Between Hope and Despair," his book about more than two decades spent patrolling that iconic bridge. "Take in what they are saying. If somebody is talking, let them talk. I'm still working on this myself."

Briggs' strategy for helping strangers teetering between life and death on a perch 220 feet above cold salt water isn't all that different from the way people should react to loved ones in the suburbs who think about killing themselves, says Anne Gulotta, a Barrington woman who serves as a board member for the Illinois chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Gulotta has started suicide-prevention programs in suburban schools and with military groups.

"A lot of times, if you can listen to people, you can change what they're doing," Gulotta says.

Retired from the California Highway Patrol, Briggs now travels around the country, promoting suicide prevention and working with groups such as the AFSP. One of the messages he tried to convey while talking to potential jumpers on the Golden Gate Bridge was: "I care about you and I'm scared for you, and I want to know what's going on," Briggs says.

Murders make news in the United States every day. But more Americans die by suicide. In 2013, 41,149 suicides were reported in the U.S., making it the 10th leading cause of death in our nation, while homicide claimed 16,121. In 2000, 10.4 suicides were reported for every 100,000 people. In 2013, that number had risen to 12.6.

The highest suicide rate (19.1 per 100,000 people) was among people 45 to 64 years old. Americans 85 and older had the next highest suicide rate. For Americans age 15 through 24, the rate is 10.9, which makes suicide the third-leading cause of death for young people.

In San Francisco, officials recently voted to spend $76 million and take three years to construct a stainless steel net designed to stop suicidal jumpers. In the 78 years since the Golden Gate Bridge opened, officials estimate more than 1,700 people jumped to their deaths. In recent years, about three people each month die by jumping off the bridge.

In Illinois, about 1,000 people die by suicide each year, mostly by using guns.

"When they are holding the gun in their hands, it's almost like they are over the rail of that bridge," says Briggs, stressing the importance of talking with people before they get to that point.

When people express fears about someone they think is suicidal, "one of the first things I ask is, 'Are there weapons in the home?'" says Richard B. Kirchhoff, a McHenry County pediatric dentist and retired Army officer who co-chairs the state AFSP board and serves in leadership positions with the national organization.

While gun-control laws remain political minefields, Kirchhoff says suicide-prevention experts are working to make it more difficult for people with suicidal thoughts to have access to guns, in part, just by educating people about the risks.

"We want to reduce suicide 20 percent by 2025," says Kirchhoff, who raises funds for educational programs and research as one of the leading walkers in the local chapter's annual Out of the Darkness Walk on Saturday, Sept. 26, in Chicago's Grant Park.

"Every year, our walk grows," says Gulotta. The Chicago walk during Suicide-Prevention Month already is the nation's largest such walk and has a goal of raising $1 million this year.

Preventing suicide generally isn't as easy as simply installing a net, and Gulotta says local volunteers work on prevention programs such as an anonymous text-messaging service that allows young people to get help for themselves or others. Education and communication are key, Gulotta says, noting that suicide affects all segments of society.

"It could be your son, your daughter, your neighbor," Gulotta says. "The more we talk about it, the more we can reduce that stigma."

Don't wait to start the conversation, she says.

"Sometimes it's as simple as saying, 'Hello,' or 'Can I help you?' People just need to understand more," Gulotta says.

"You need to take action," Briggs says. "It takes a lot of courage to have that talk."

Out of Darkness Walk

Get help

If you or someone you know might be contemplating suicide, call 911, phone the Suicide Prevention Hotline at (800) 273-8255 or visit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention at afsp.org

Join the walk

What: Annual Out of the Darkness Walk

When: 8 a.m. registration; 10-noon walk, Saturday, Sept. 26

Where: Arvey Field, Grant Park, Chicago

For information or to register: Visit ChicagoWalk.org