BRIDGE TRAFFIC TIED UP AS POLICE HALT SUICIDE ATTEMPT

Rush-hour Mississippi River bridge traffic was tied up for about an hour Friday, as police and firefighters dissuaded a man from jumping off the bridge.

Cape Girardeau police and firefighters responded to the bridge at 4:20 p.m. after policeman Alvin Spencer noticed a man walking on the bridge.

The man climbed over the bridge railing as Spencer approached. A boat was dispatched with firefighters while the tow boat Curtis Moore from Missouri Dry Dock waited to assist.

Police Capt. Steve Strong said police had been dealing with the man earlier in the day in a domestic situation. Officers halted bridge traffic while the man's friend and police chaplain David Allen of the St. James AME Church were called to the scene to talk to him.

After about an hour of dialogue, the man surrendered to officers and was taken into protective custody and will undergo a mental health evaluation.

During the standoff officers were able to route a medical emergency across the bridge from Illinois. A young girl had been bitten by what was believed to be a brown recluse spider and was being transported to a Cape Girardeau hospital by the girl's family.