'I Was Praying and God Spared His Life': Florida Officer Convinces Suicidal Man Not to Jump

Aimee Herd : May 5, 2026
Fox & Friends, Fox News

"...We can all love our neighbors and be part of the solution in our nation. Every person is made in God's image, loved by Jesus—and life is a gift." -Pastor Jesse Bradley, Grace Community Church

[Breaking Christian News] Jacksonville, Florida Police Officer Antonio Richardson had been just called upon to direct traffic, as other officers attempted to talk a distraught man off the ledge of a bridge. (Screengrab image: via Fox News)

But, knowing Richardson had also been a pastor, they soon asked him to speak with the man.

"I just felt within myself that God was going to spare his life," Richardson later said on a Fox & Friends interview.

Speaking to the suicidal man that night, Officer Richardson told him, "Whatever you're going through, man, you can get through it ... Let's talk about it for a minute ... You believe in prayer, I know that ... Just touch my hand. Just touch my hand, man, I'm praying with you."

"If you jump," he told him, "you're going to hurt other people. And they're going to be hurting just like you're hurting now, the cycle's gotta stop."

According to the Fox News report, the man finally stepped back from the edge, walked toward Officer Richardson, and the two embraced. (Screengrab image: via Fox News)

"I was praying," Richardson said, "And God spared his life. And we connected. And as a result of that connection, he didn't jump."

The officer admitted that after the man was safe, he went back to his patrol car, called his wife and "wept like a baby." Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

Click Here to watch the Fox & Friends video report on Officer Richardson's life-saving rescue.