Geneva police help talk a 19-year-old down off a train trestle

Five Geneva police officers are being credited for saving the life of a 19-year-old man who was threatening to jump off a train trestle spanning the Fox River.

Police on Wednesday were dispatched at 7:58 p.m. to the Union Pacific line train trestle for a call of a possible trespasser after a conductor on a passing train noticed someone standing to the side of the tracks. When officers arrived, they found the teen, who was threatening to jump from the bridge or harm himself with a knife, Deputy Chief Brian Maduzia said.

Police were able to contact the department's dispatch center to hold all train traffic on the line, Maduzia said. The officers spent more than an hour on the trestle, about 100 feet above the Fox River, negotiating with the man, who eventually surrendered to police unharmed.

"Throughout this prolonged incident, officers remained calm by utilizing their extensive crisis intervention training to safely end a very dangerous and tense incident," Maduzia said in a news release.

The man was taken to Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital in Geneva for treatment. Maduzia said the man did not suffer any physical injuries from the incident.

Maduzia said Wednesday's incident highlights the department's ongoing efforts to address calls involving mental health needs. In 2020, the department contracted with the Association for Individual Development to provide a part-time, on-site social worker at the police department.

The social worker was not involved in Wednesday's initial call but does work with officers to provide resources to residents in need of mental health care assistance. Since July 2021, the social worker has worked on 314 cases involving 782 people, Maduzia said.

"It's the next level of care," Maduzia said of the partnership. "This is the next level to get people the help they need to make sure they don't have to repeatedly call 911 or have the police be their only resource."

He said the department has access to a 24-hour hotline to request a social worker in certain situations. More than half of the city's police officers have undergone crisis intervention training, he said.

The officers, who were not identified by the police department, will be recognized for their efforts at a later date, Maduzia said.

Residents who would like to make an appointment with the department's social worker, Allison Bader, can call the Association for Individual Development crisis line at (630) 966-9393 or send an email to abader@aidcares.org.