Three Queens prosecutors came to the aid of a distressed person outside of the courtroom last Friday when they stepped in to save a man who was trying to hang himself outside of Queens Borough Hall in Kew Gardens.
Assistant District Attorneys Andrea M. Mauro, Jason S. Trager and Gabriel Mendoza were leaving the Kew Gardens building just before 1 p.m. on April 1 when they saw a man tying one end of a rope to a tree and the other end on his neck.
According to District Attorney Richard A. Brown, the prosecutors grabbed the man, who was in his late 50s or early 60s, just as the rope was tightening. Trager untied the rope from the tree and Mendoza untied the rope from the man’s neck.
“The assistant district attorneys in this office do a tremendous job each day of seeking justice for victims of crimes, but these three prosecutors went above and beyond the call of duty by stepping in to save a man who was obviously distraught and in desperate need,” Brown said. “I am extremely proud of their actions.”
The man was taken to a local hospital by police for observation and treatment. It was not immediately clear what motivated the man to hurt himself.
“The man collapsed on the ground crying, gasping for air,” Trager said. “We are relieved that we were able to get him down from the tree in time. It was very sad and shocking.”
