UNIVERSITY CIRCLE , Ohio (WJW) — Christmas is a time of great joy, but the holiday can also cause pain for those suffering from depression or trauma.
On Christmas morning, a University Circle police officer was on patrol when she spotted a man outside a church on Euclid Avenue and reported that he appeared to be in distress.
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“With my training, I’m thinking ‘okay, this guy looks like he either is in a crisis or under the influence of a substance,’” Officer Gloria Mercado told Fox 8.
On video from the officer’s body camera, the man made several unusual comments as she approached him, including “they left me hooked up to an energy source.”
Officer Mercado says her first goal was to make the man feel at ease and then determine if he needed help.
“I know when somebody is up ‘here,’ you’re trying to bring them back down and since he was all dancing and moving around a lot, I figured if I’m relaxed and I talk to him in a calm tone, he would come back down and talk to me and he engaged.”