CLEVELAND — University Circle Patrol Officer Joe Fazio, Badge No. 44, has been awarded the Life Saving Award from the American Police Hall of Fame after saving the same man from taking his own life on two consecutive days — Jan. 16 and Jan. 17, 2026.
Day One: Jan. 16
UCPD Dispatch, monitored by Captain Smith, received word via the Cleveland Division of Police’s 3rd District of a suicidal male on the eighth floor of the Veterans Administration employee parking garage. Fazio was first on scene and made contact with the man, who approached the garage wall and gestured that he intended to jump on two separate occasions.
Through de-escalation and building a rapport with the man, Fazio successfully talked him to safety. His supervisor — Sgt. Tim Caine, who also assisted on scene — submitted the award nomination, writing, “Ptl. Fazio did an excellent job with his de-escalation skills and his ability to build a rapport with this male who was clearly in crisis.”
Day Two: Jan. 17
The following day, the same man was discharged from the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center and walked directly back to the eighth floor of the same garage to the exact same spot, with the same intentions. Fazio responded, de-escalated the situation again, and took the man into protective custody.
Caines sent a follow-up email referencing the case: “This is the 2nd time in 2 days Ptl. Fazio did an exemplary job in a tense and volatile situation with an individual in crisis.”…