Latest / Cultural Wars | America Out Loud News / Hope on the edge: Officer talks man down from bridge in Jacksonville

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Hope on the edge: Officer talks man down from bridge in Jacksonville · Cultural Wars | America Out Loud News

• 0:09
  You are listening to the Hidden Lightness on America Out Loud Talk Radio.
• 0:12
  I'm your host, Jimmy Hinton.
• 0:14
  As always, we celebrate the goodness and the lightness in this nation.
• 0:20
  And there's a really heartwarming story coming out of Jacksonville, Florida, where a police officer stepped into action selflessly immediately, and he used his faith to save a man's life.
• 0:36
  I love everything about this story.
• 0:38
  I love that this man was courageous, this officer, a law enforcement officer.
• 0:44
  I love that he was compassionate.
• 0:47
  I love that he was helpful.
• 0:49
  I love that he cared, that he took his time and spoke with the victim.
• 0:56
  Because man, we just don't know.
• 0:58
  We don't know what people are going through.
• 1:02
  And this guy was no pun intended at the end of his rope.
• 1:08
  And this guy, the only option that he saw before him was to jump from a bridge.
• 1:17
  And he was on the edge.
• 1:18
  Somebody saw him.
• 1:19
  They called the police.
• 1:22
  And the Jacksonville sheriff's department showed up.
• 1:28
  And this officer stepped into action with the team of other officers.
• 1:32
  He actually wasn't supposed to be the one to talk to him.
• 1:35
  But because he's a pastor, they said, the other officer said, hey, would you mind talking to our victim here?
• 1:44
  Would you mind talking to this guy who's just going through a really hard time?
• 1:47
  And he said, Yeah, gladly.
• 1:49
  I want you to hear this exchange.
• 1:51
  This is so powerful.
• 1:56
  Whatever you're going through, man, you can get through it.
• 2:00
  No, listen, man.
• 2:01
  Listen.
• 2:02
  Listen.
• 2:02
  You can get through this.
• 2:05
  Let's talk about it for you.
• 2:10
  You believe in prayer.
• 2:12
  I know that.
• 2:12
  Just touch my hand.
• 2:14
  Just touch my hand, man.
• 2:15
  I'm praying with them.
• 2:16
  But if you jump, you're gonna hurt other people.
• 2:18
  And they're gonna be hurting just like you heard it now.
• 2:22
  The cycle got to stop.
• 2:24
  Come on, man.
• 2:27
  Come on, bro.
• 2:28
  There you go.
• 2:28
  Come on, man.
• 2:30
  All right.
• 2:31
  Isn't that incredible?
• 2:33
  Uh the exchange was actually a lot longer than that.
• 2:36
  I will uh link in the show notes here.
• 2:39
  Um that brought tears to my eyes.
• 2:43
  Uh don't give me this crap that our our police officers are all corrupt, that they don't care, that they're just robots in a in a uniform.
• 2:54
  You know, all this narrative and negativity and and people giving our police officers a hard time.
• 3:00
  It it's it's gotta stop.
• 3:04
  Yeah, I still argue the majority, and I know this.
• 3:08
  I have friends in law enforcement, a lot of friends in law enforcement.
• 3:13
  The majority of people in law enforcement are good, good people.
• 3:19
  Are there a handful of bad ones?
• 3:22
  One hundred percent.
• 3:25
  Is that acceptable?
• 3:27
  Zero percent.
• 3:28
  No.
• 3:31
  It's never acceptable.
• 3:33
  And I get, I understand.
• 3:36
  Man, when people are targeted by law enforcement, when law enforcement is not trained or not trained well enough, and people die.
• 3:49
  It's tragic.
• 3:50
  And we mourn with those people.
• 3:54
  Honestly, 100%.
• 3:58
  You know, it's never okay, but we're also never gonna completely avoid that.
• 4:05
  And that doesn't, I'm not justifying that here.
• 4:07
  I'm just saying it's there are always going to be a few bad apples everywhere, or people who are under trained, or people who are overtired or overly emotional, or whatever it is.
• 4:20
  Bad things will happen at the hands of law enforcement.
• 4:25
  I've I've had a couple bad experiences.
• 4:28
  I had one where a police officer had to physically be removed by another officer because he was that worked up.
• 4:35
  I mean, he was ready, he was ready to drag me out of my car.
• 4:39
  And I remained calm and uh I listened to his commands.
• 4:43
  I you know, did everything that I could do, but he just he was so he was outraged, he was livid.
• 4:49
  And the other the other officer came up, pulled him away, made him get in his car, and then apologized to me.
• 4:56
  He was he couldn't have been any nicer.
• 4:59
  And he said, we've had a lot of problems with this guy.
• 5:01
  He's a hot head.
• 5:04
  And they're out there, they exist.
• 5:07
  It's it's unfortunate.
• 5:10
  But the vast majority of people in law enforcement are good people, and they really do care about protecting and serving with their own lives, protecting and serving our communities.
• 5:26
  There's an article here about the story that we just listened to.
• 5:31
  And uh this was just published a couple days ago.
• 5:36
  This is a uh, I believe it's a local uh local news.
• 5:42
  Uh looks like it's maybe a Fox affiliate, maybe WFIN.
• 5:48
  Um the title of the article here is Faith Drives Man to Help Another Through Mental Health Crisis and Dramatic Life or Death Scene.
• 6:00
  Uh the arc of a life's man changed dramatically after Jacksonville police officer, along with a team of other officers stepped in to help an individual in crisis on the Dames Point Bridge in Florida in April.
• 6:16
  Faith had everything to do with it.
• 6:20
  Uh I probably wouldn't say everything.
• 6:26
  Because those other officers, they were doing their job too.
• 6:30
  Everybody.
• 6:31
  This was this was a team effort.
• 6:35
  This was 100%.
• 6:36
  This was a team effort, and every single one of these law off law enforcement officers needs to be commended.
• 6:43
  They handled this exceptionally well.
• 6:48
  The article goes on.
• 6:50
  Body camera footage taken on April 12th shows Officer Antonio Richardson speaking with a man who was standing on the edge of the bridge, getting ready to jump.
• 7:00
  Richardson, along with six other patrol officers, responded to the emergency.
• 7:00
  Richardson, along with six other patrol officers responded to the emergency.
• 7:06
  Whatever you're going through, man, you can get through it.
• 7:06
  Whatever you're going through, man, you can get through it.
• 7:10
  Richardson can be heard saying to the man during the drama, we just listened to that audio.
• 7:10
  Richardson can be heard saying to the man during the drama, we just listened to that audio.
• 7:15
  He kept telling him you can get through this, whatever it is, you can get through this.
• 7:15
  He kept telling him, you can get through this, whatever it is, you can get through this.
• 7:19
  Let's talk about this.
• 7:19
  Let's talk about this.
• 7:25
  Just touch my hand, man.
• 7:28
  I'm praying with you.
• 7:31
  It's incredible.
• 7:34
  The officer for about 40 minutes kept a steady stream of conversation and outreach to the man who was teetering on the on the edge of the bridge, looking down at the water below him.
• 7:48
  For 40 minutes, he was engaged in conversation.
• 7:53
  I can't tell you how grueling that must have been for all of those officers.
• 7:58
  And quite frankly, for the man on the edge of the bridge.
• 8:03
  I mean, it was it was exhausting.
• 8:06
  It was terrifying.
• 8:09
  And it's not something you can come.
• 8:11
  I mean, very rarely is it acceptable, I guess, to just go and grab somebody and pull them back.
• 8:23
  Because a lot can go.
• 8:24
  I mean a lot can go wrong.
• 8:27
  I've seen it done before.
• 8:29
  I I've seen footage where officers have done that.
• 8:33
  And I'm not I'm not judging them.
• 8:35
  Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.
• 8:39
  But in very, very rare circumstances, is that okay?
• 8:44
  Because it's just, I mean, the person can fall, they can take you with them.
• 8:48
  Uh the officer, it's just it's a it's a very delicate situation for everybody.
• 8:55
  Very, very delicate situation.
• 8:59
  And so finally after many moments, the man stepped away from the bridge and walked toward the officer, and they hugged.
• 9:10
  Then the other officer stepped in.
• 9:12
  And this guy, I pray is getting the help that he needs.
• 9:18
  Uh, it's really incredible.
• 9:19
  So uh he uh officer is it Richardson?
• 9:25
  Um he was on Fox Fox and Friends, and here's what he had to say.
• 9:33
  When I got the call, I was just there to stop traffic.
• 9:36
  And then a couple of other officers who knew my position as a pastor asked me to come over and talk with the guy.
• 9:42
  Nothing was scripted.
• 9:44
  I did not want to see him jump.
• 9:47
  Uh I just felt within myself that God was going to spare his life, and he did.
• 9:54
  Uh he he also said, I was I was praying, and God spared his life, and we connected.
• 10:01
  And as a result of that connection, he didn't jump.
• 10:06
  Officer Richardson has more than 30 years of ministry experience.
• 10:13
  And this is really cool.
• 10:14
  You know, I I as a pastor myself, uh, I can't love this enough.
• 10:20
  I think it's really cool, and I love when police officers are Christians.
• 10:27
  And a lot of people get upset about that, and they're like they gripe about it.
• 10:31
  You can't mix faith and religion.
• 10:35
  Do you know how many videos I've seen of police officers praying with people who are absolutely distraught?
• 10:42
  Do you know what that does to bridge that gap?
• 10:44
  This gap that quite frankly, a lot of people, a lot of people are trying to create this gap.
• 10:52
  This hatred between law enforcement and the public.
• 10:56
  Look at look at the uh the the shootings.
• 10:59
  I mean, these are not random, and I'm talking about people shooting police officers.
• 11:04
  There was just one a couple weeks ago.
• 11:08
  Where it they're ambushed.
• 11:12
  And people do it just because they're police officers, and that's just messed up.
• 11:19
  I just have never understood that.
• 11:21
  It's and I'm talking to somebody who had bad experiences with officers, a couple.
• 11:27
  I mean, very, very few.
• 11:29
  And I used to get pulled over quite a bit.
• 11:32
  Um, for various reasons, but uh the biggest is just uh um, I'll admit I'm a lead foot.
• 11:39
  I like to go, I don't like the dilly-dally, I like to get the job done, and I like to hammer hammer on down the road.
• 11:47
  And uh the other is I have over two million miles, uh, or uh around two million miles under my belt, and that's a lot of miles, and you drive that many miles, you're gonna get pulled over.
• 12:00
  And a lot of those were in a commercial vehicle, and oftentimes in a commercial vehicle in a semi-truck, you're just pulled over pretty routinely.
• 12:12
  So for inspections, DOT inspections, and things like that.
• 12:15
  It's it's par for the course.
• 12:18
  Um, and so I've had good good experiences, mostly good experiences, in fact, mostly great experiences.
• 12:28
  Even when I was completely guilty, even when I got pulled over for speeding, or one time got pulled over for uh being in a restricted lane, and I got a ticket out of it, and the guy could not have been more nice.
• 12:42
  I joked with him, and I was like, Yeah, I was like, um, it would have been a little bit better to get a warning.
• 12:49
  And he was like, well, he's like, Normally I would, but he said the fact that we're literally touching, he's like, I'm leaning against the sign.
• 13:00
  I'm like, yeah, you got you got me there.
• 13:03
  Because where he pulled me over, it was I mean, it was right there, it was right in your face.
• 13:08
  And I just I was actually out beside another semi-truck, and I couldn't see the sign.
• 13:14
  Uh, there were a couple signs actually, and I didn't see them.
• 13:18
  And he was so cool about it, and and I was cool too.
• 13:21
  I was like, man, I'm like, you're doing your job.
• 13:24
  I'm doing mine.
• 13:25
  I was like, uh, I will, I was like, give me that ticket.
• 13:31
  But you know, the majority of police officers that I've interacted with, the the overwhelming majority, have been the nicest coolest people that that I've ever interacted with.
• 13:46
  And uh, you know, again, even when I was guilty.
• 13:51
  And if you give mutual respect, I don't care what people say, if you give mutual respect, uh, they're usually pretty cool with you.
• 14:00
  I say usually because it's not always.
• 14:00
  I say usually because it's not always.
• 14:03
  I've had bad experiences.
• 14:03
  I've had bad experiences.
• 14:04
  Like I said, I had that one where uh the one officer almost drugged me out of the car.
• 14:04
  Like I said, I had that one where uh the one officer almost drugged me out of the car.
• 14:09
  I had another one where it's just it was a really, really bad experience.
• 14:09
  I had another one where it's just it was a really really bad experience.
• 14:13
  And you know, I I wasn't in fear of things getting physical, but uh it was the police officer who was very aggressive, and she was mouthing off and uh just trying so hard to provoke me.
• 14:13
  And you know, I I wasn't in fear of things getting physical, but uh it was the police officer who was very aggressive, and she was mouthing off and uh just trying so hard to provoke me, and I I just kept my composure and said, Thank you, ma'am.
• 14:27
  And I just
• 14:33
  Uh, can I have my ticket and be on my way?
• 14:36
  And she threw it at me.
• 14:38
  She literally threw the ticket at me.
• 14:41
  Which whatever, like, whatever.
• 14:43
  Honestly, people get so bent out of shape, and they're like, Oh, you know, justice, justice, and I'm like, yeah, she just was having a bad day, and uh I I could just tell.
• 14:56
  And when I went to court for that one, she actually dismissed the ticket, and the judge was shocked.
• 15:01
  He's like, I've never had this happen before.
• 15:04
  And he's like, She wrote right on the ticket, take it dismissed.
• 15:09
  You know, and so it's just further proof.
• 15:11
  She was just having a bad day, and I was kind.
• 15:14
  I was I was very nice to her.
• 15:17
  I didn't retaliate, I didn't mouth off because she mouthed off to me.
• 15:21
  I was very, very respectful.
• 15:23
  And you know, it at the end of the day, police officers are people too.
• 15:31
  And uh they they see and experience a lot of really bad things, and you can understand why they're skeptical when they walk up to a car.
• 15:41
  It's just they are police officers deal with a lot of attitude and a lot of crime, and a lot of really, really bad people.
• 15:53
  So I uh want you to hear what um what this kind police officer had to say.
• 16:03
  Here's what he told Fox News Digital.
• 16:06
  He said, This powerful story reminds us that we can all love our neighbors and be part of the solution in our nation.
• 16:13
  Every person is made in God's image, loved by Jesus, and life is a gift.
• 16:21
  Amen.
• 16:22
  I think that's really cool.
• 16:23
  I think it's inspirational.
• 16:25
  This is exactly the kind of story that our nation needs to hear right now.
• 16:31
  It's we need to hear this kind of goodness, this kind of compassion from the very top.
• 16:40
  And quite frankly, our president would do well to emulate some of this.
• 16:45
  Um it would it would do our nation well, trust me.
• 16:52
  I know like he's all about the uh drama and and getting reactions, but man, this kind of compassion would go very far in this nation.
• 17:02
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• 18:19
  Oh never before.
• 18:28
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  America Rotloud.news is the antidote to these poison hiss.
• 18:45
  America out loud dot news is that place to awaken your heart, soul, and mind to the outlook truth.
• 19:02
  In a world that's full of skepticism and fear and anger and division and all those things that people try to bring to the surface, it really can cause people to become incredibly um hopeless.
• 19:21
  It can cause people to feel like their world's crashing in on them.
• 19:26
  Like nobody cares.
• 19:28
  And that's a terrible place to be.
• 19:30
  And I don't wish out on anybody.
• 19:32
  I I I really, really believe that we have to do a better job of encouraging people and telling people that is hope.
• 19:41
  There's always hope.
• 19:43
  And that the world is a beautiful place, even in the midst of tragedy.
• 19:48
  The world is a beautiful place, and it's full of beautiful people and opportunity, and we really have to encourage people.
• 19:59
  So just a couple of weeks ago, there was a man who was um he had lost all hope.
• 20:10
  And he was standing on the edge of a bridge, literally in Jacksonville, Florida, and that's when police officers were called.
• 20:19
  Which number one, I don't I don't know who made the call, but kudos to the person who made the call.
• 20:25
  Again, just shows people care.
• 20:28
  And when police officers showed up, there was a Jacksonville sheriff's office officer who was there to direct traffic.
• 20:38
  That was his job.
• 20:39
  He was there simply to do traffic control, and uh he was on on the bridge, and when the other officers, I think there were about a dozen of them in all, when they found out that he was there, they were like, hey, we gotta get this guy.
• 20:54
  He's a pastor.
• 20:56
  And they went over and they talked to him, and they said, Hey, uh Officer Richardson, would you mind talking to uh to our Vic who's up here?
• 21:01
  Officer Richardson, would you mind talking to uh to our Vic who's up here and try to talk him down?
• 21:08
  And try to talk him down.
• 21:11
  And he considered that an honor.
• 21:11
  And he considered that an honor.
• 21:14
  So here's another article.
• 21:14
  So here's another article.
• 21:16
  This is from Tampa, Tampa Bay.
• 21:16
  This is from Tampa, Tampa Bay.
• 21:22
  Uh it's 10 Tampa Bay, WTPS.
• 21:22
  Uh it's 10 Tampa Bay, WTPS.
• 21:26
  And the article here is officer's message of hope.
• 21:26
  And the article here is Officer's Message of Hope, help save man in Crisis on Florida Bridge.
• 21:33
  And I want to point out before I read any of this, just number one, most importantly, when somebody's in a state of despair, uh, be that person who's who takes the time to talk to them.
• 21:49
  And I'm going to share a story that just happened, and why I'm choosing to cover this story now.
• 21:55
  Uh, I had a couple other stories queued up, and I thought, I, you know, I gotta share this story because this hits it hits really close to home for a lot of people, and probably most of us.
• 22:06
  It's a really difficult subject, but I'm not gonna shy away from it because it's raw, it's real, and people experience it.
• 22:14
  But it's the topic of uh the topic of suicide, and all of us know somebody who either has passed away because of it, or we know friends or family who've lost a loved one due to suicide.
• 22:31
  And it's so incredibly heartbreaking, and it is on their eyes, especially among young people here in the United States of America, and that absolutely shatters me.
• 22:43
  I uh I have done too many funerals.
• 22:49
  I've officiated too many funerals and stood beside caskets of people who had given up hope.
• 22:58
  And the amount of devastation that's left behind is indescribable, and the amount of questions that are left behind is indescribable.
• 23:11
  And it leaves such a wake of sadness and brokenness and unanswered questions, and what what could I have done differently?
• 23:19
  What should have I seen that I missed?
• 23:21
  What uh how did I not see this?
• 23:24
  How was I so blind that when my loved one smiled and said, hey, I'm doing great, that inside they were they were thinking of this.
• 23:37
  And it leaves so many questions for those of us who are left behind.
• 23:43
  And I I really hope and pray that any of you who've experienced that, don't wrestle with guilt because it's not our it's not our fault.
• 23:55
  The signs are incredibly difficult to see.
• 23:58
  They really are.
• 24:04
  That is not the only answer.
• 24:08
  In fact, it's not the best answer.
• 24:10
  In fact, it's possibly the worst answer.
• 24:15
  Because you're hurting the very people who who absolutely love you and and want you around.
• 24:23
  And that's not to place guilt on people who are struggling with with these kinds of thoughts, but it's to say that it does not solve problems.
• 24:32
  It just doesn't.
• 24:35
  And there's always a better way.
• 24:37
  And so for those of us who come into contact with people who are struggling with this kind of a mindset, be the person who's there for them.
• 24:49
  Now, I want to share a story, ironically, uh, and maybe it's not irony, it's maybe it's just the way God works.
• 24:59
  I don't know.
• 24:59
  I don't know.
• 25:01
  I don't ever hear voices, God doesn't ever talk to me in audible voices, and I I just I don't get visions and things like that.
• 25:09
  Um, but I have to believe that all of us are put here for for a very specific reason at a specific time, place.
• 25:18
  Uh God equips us with the right things to say at the right time, and I don't know why.
• 25:24
  I I've experienced this over and over and over again.
• 25:29
  And maybe a big part of that is we just God wants us to have faith and to trust him.
• 25:36
  But I was preaching on Sunday, and uh again, I say ironically, it's it I I think it's all God's design.
• 25:47
  Uh but I was preaching on the importance of encouraging people, encouraging others, and that word for encouragement, it's so interesting.
• 25:56
  I it's just so interesting how God works.
• 26:00
  That word for encouragement in Koan A Greek, and I'm no expert in Koan A Greek, believe me.
• 26:07
  I took three years of it.
• 26:10
  Um, but I am no expert.
• 26:14
  But the word that's used in the scriptures, it's used in uh my passages came from 1 Thessalonians 5 and also from the book of Hebrews, and and the same word is used, but the word for to encourage somebody literally means to come up beside somebody and draw them near to come alongside of somebody and to draw them near to you.
• 26:41
  And I think about I think about what happened in Jacksonville, Florida.
• 26:48
  And Officer Antonio Richardson encouraged that man.
• 26:53
  He he came up beside and drew him near.
• 26:58
  That is the definition of encouragement.
• 27:01
  It's exactly, it's the literal translation of that word is to come up alongside and draw somebody near.
• 27:09
  And for the purpose of basically um talking them up.
• 27:17
  Right.
• 27:18
  So I'm I'm giving this uh sermon on it as I'm giving that sermon.
• 27:25
  Now we had my daughter's birthday is uh knocking, um, and she has a good friend who goes to church, very, very good friend who goes to church, and she was while I was preaching, she was back decorating and doing a surprise birthday party for my daughter.
• 27:47
  And the phone rings as I'm preaching, right in the middle of church service, and it happens uh, I don't know, maybe uh once every couple months, we'll get a phone call during services.
• 27:58
  Uh it almost never gets answered.
• 28:00
  Never gets answered.
• 28:01
  Because by the time somebody gets up and they hunt a phone down, uh the phone is, you know, the the call is long gone.
• 28:01
  Because by the time somebody gets up and they hunt a phone down, uh, the phone is, you know, the the call is long gone.
• 28:09
  And so people sometimes leave a voicemail, sometimes they don't.
• 28:09
  And so people sometimes leave a voicemail, sometimes they don't.
• 28:12
  Sometimes it's uh people looking for help, sometimes it's uh spam.
• 28:12
  Sometimes it's uh people looking for help, sometimes it's uh spam.
• 28:18
  You just never know, right?
• 28:18
  You just never know, right?
• 28:19
  You never know.
• 28:19
  You never know.
• 28:21
  So this young woman, 18 year old, decides I'm gonna pick up the phone.
• 28:21
  So this young woman, 18-year-old, decides I'm gonna pick up the phone.
• 28:31
  And she said, I don't know why he picked up the phone.
• 28:33
  Like I just I heard it ring, and I was like, should I answer it?
• 28:36
  Should I not?
• 28:37
  Should I?
• 28:37
  And she's like, I just picked up the phone.
• 28:41
  Which I'm shocked that she did it too, because my daughter was like, I would never pick up the phone.
• 28:46
  That's like I don't want to take phone calls, and it's a landline.
• 28:51
  And uh, you know, kids are not really accustomed to land lines because it's just a whole different game for them.
• 28:58
  Uh, but anyway, this young woman picks up the phone, and right away the guy, the first thing he says is, I want to take my own life.
• 29:11
  And she said, Well, sir, you you need to call 911.
• 29:18
  And he he was persistent.
• 29:20
  He said, I I don't even want to talk to you.
• 29:23
  I want to talk to, I'm gonna talk to a man.
• 29:27
  And I assume that he probably wanted to find somebody he was he could connect to, uh, is my guess, or else he had a bad experience with a woman.
• 29:37
  Who knows?
• 29:38
  Who knows?
• 29:39
  But he wanted to speak to a man.
• 29:41
  My wife came and got me.
• 29:45
  Because this young woman came and got my wife, and then my wife got me like the second I was done preaching, my wife came and got me.
• 29:55
  And I called this gentleman back.
• 29:58
  I had a phone number, called him back, and it just went straight to voicemail, and my heart sank.
• 30:02
  And I was like, oh no, because that's not a good sign.
• 30:05
  You know, when somebody shuts their phone off, it it means sometimes, or it could mean that they shut their phone off and they're gonna follow through at their plan.
• 30:18
  And uh, so I try again right away, and it rings, and he picks up.
• 30:26
  And I I go back, and for the next 20 minutes, this gentleman just pours his heart out and tells me his story and complete stranger, complete stranger from a different state.
• 30:40
  Uh, he actually was was somewhere close to us uh through a long series of events, and I'll I'll spare all the details, but um and he asked me to share this.
• 30:54
  He said, please share this story with your congregation because I want to know, I want them to know that I felt their love.
• 31:01
  I felt I felt their compassion.
• 31:06
  And I felt their prayers, and I was like, man, it's just it's just so it's so powerful.
• 31:13
  Um, but he said, you are the first pastor who actually answered me, who actually took time, and you're talking to me.
• 31:21
  He's like, I I called several, he's like, I got hung up on.
• 31:25
  I had people tell me that uh my story wasn't believable.
• 31:28
  I had people tell me basically good luck.
• 31:32
  And I was like, Man, I'm not I'm not here to judge.
• 31:36
  Um I'm just here to listen.
• 31:38
  You called here, you wanted to talk to a man, a man is on the phone with you, and I'm just here to listen.
• 31:45
  That's that's my job right now.
• 31:47
  My job is to listen to you.
• 31:49
  And he he starts tearing up.
• 31:53
  He's like, nobody's ever talked to me like that before.
• 31:57
  I'm like, well, I'm talking to you now.
• 32:00
  And I'm not saying this to to pat myself on the shoulder at all, at all.
• 32:04
  Not at all.
• 32:05
  In fact, the true hero of the story, the true hero of the story, is this young woman who picked up the phone and was dealt a really, really difficult situation that she's never been in, but she's never had to deal with something this heavy before.
• 32:25
  And she handled it with the excellence.
• 32:30
  And I'm so proud of all right, let me let me just let me go into this.
• 32:36
  Let me go on my soapbox for a minute.
• 32:40
  This whole thing where I talk about young people and how young people get a bad rap, and young people they're they're lazy, they don't want to work, they're dumb, they're snowflakes, like on and on and on and on.
• 32:54
  People insult young people constantly.
• 32:58
  This young woman and my young son who was with her.
• 33:04
  Uh, he was helping decorate.
• 33:07
  And a couple other people were kind of mosing around, but they weren't, they didn't hear the phone call.
• 33:14
  They instinctively knew what to do.
• 33:19
  She knew what to say, she knew who to get, she knew to take his number down.
• 33:27
  Like everything was just done with excellence.
• 33:34
  And then she was worried about him.
• 33:36
  She was legitimately worried, and she kept popping her head in, because I went in in another room, and she would like kind of crack the door, and she would like give the thumbs up and thumbs down sign, like wanting to know is is he okay or is he not?
• 33:52
  And I just thought, man, it's it's the amount of compassion and the amount of instinct and the amount of of care and um brilliance with young people.
• 34:05
  It just never ceases to amaze me.
• 34:08
  And so my point in all of this is be the person, be the person who goes up beside somebody who comes alongside of somebody and draws them near to call near.
• 34:26
  Be that person who encourages somebody else.
• 34:29
  Be the officer Antonio Richardson.
• 34:33
  Be the person who listens, because I assure you, uh, it's hard to believe.
• 34:38
  It's hard to believe, but it does happen where people don't listen.
• 34:43
  And I don't know, you know, like I talk about how the majority of people are good, but I I don't know.
• 34:50
  I don't know how many phone calls this guy made.
• 34:52
  Maybe he made, maybe he made three phone calls and I was the third call.
• 34:57
  And in his mind, like nobody would listen to him.
• 35:00
  Would listen to him.
• 35:00
  I don't know.
• 35:00
  I don't know.
• 35:01
  I didn't ask him those questions.
• 35:01
  I didn't ask him those questions.
• 35:02
  It wasn't really the time or the place.
• 35:02
  It wasn't really the time or the police.
• 35:05
  All I know is when somebody's on the other end of the phone, or somebody is on the side of a bridge, or somebody is uh texting you saying nobody cares, be the person who gives that person five minutes.
• 35:05
  All I know is when somebody's on the other end of the phone, or somebody is on the side of a bridge, or somebody is uh texting you saying nobody cares, be the person who gives that person five minutes.
• 35:23
  Be the person who picks up the phone.
• 35:23
  Be the person who picks up the phone.
• 35:28
  Be the person who answers the text message.
• 35:28
  Be the person who answers the text message back.
• 35:31
  Be the person who just stands there and listens to somebody.
• 35:35
  They may be ranting, raving, cursing, whatever it is.
• 35:39
  Be the person who listens to them.
• 35:42
  And tell them, like Officer Antonio Richardson did, tell them God's got you.
• 35:50
  I love what he said.
• 35:51
  He's like, you believe in prayer.
• 35:53
  I know you do.
• 35:54
  Can I pray for you?
• 35:57
  I love that.
• 35:59
  I absolutely love that he appealed to God.
• 36:04
  So it was him and six other patrol officers who responded to the scene, at least initially.
• 36:13
  And he spent, as I said, nearly 40 minutes talking with this man before he made the decision to step back.
• 36:20
  And that takes an incredible amount of patience and wisdom, and it's just really, really special.
• 36:28
  We're coming up on another break here.
• 36:29
  All of our shows do go to podcast the next day after the broadcast is heard on Talk Radio.
• 36:35
  You can hear them on Spotify, Stitcher, Pandora, iHeart Podcast, Apple Podcast, America Out Loud Podcast, Wink Wink.
• 36:46
  It's an incredible, incredible app.
• 36:48
  Be sure to check it out.
• 36:50
  And visit the store at America Outloud.news.
• 36:53
  Use the code Out Loud.
• 36:54
  There are so many good products there.
• 36:57
  It's unbelievable.
• 36:59
  You won't be disappointed.
• 37:01
  And hang tight.
• 37:02
  When we come back, we'll talk more about Officer Richardson.
• 37:06
  What an incredible man.
• 37:07
  We'll be right back.
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• 38:48
  Officer Richardson is a police officer.
• 38:51
  He's an officer with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
• 38:55
  And man, he is a hero.
• 38:58
  He's an absolute hero.
• 38:59
  There's no other way to put it.
• 39:01
  And he may not view himself that way.
• 39:03
  He, and I'm probably pretty sure that that's accurate.
• 39:09
  But he's a hero.
• 39:11
  I'm gonna, I'm just gonna call him.
• 39:13
  I'm gonna call it as I see it.
• 39:14
  He's a hero.
• 39:16
  He stepped into action, and I know it's his job, it's his job to take care of people, but he went above and beyond.
• 39:26
  And he used his faith to literally save a person's life.
• 39:32
  And I think that's really cool.
• 39:34
  He kept telling the gentleman who was literally standing on the edge of a bridge.
• 39:39
  He said, Whatever you're going through, you can get through it.
• 39:46
  That moment was captured in a viral video that lasts just over 90 seconds.
• 39:53
  Now keep in mind, he was doing this for 40 minutes.
• 39:58
  But here's what Officer Richardson had to say.
• 40:01
  It was a team effort.
• 40:02
  Everybody worked together beautifully.
• 40:05
  As I walked up, the first thing that came to my mind was that statement that I just said that and I just believe that he's gonna be alright.
• 40:17
  You see, he believed it.
• 40:20
  And that's faith.
• 40:22
  Yeah, it's really interesting.
• 40:24
  I was talking about my uh ironically what my sermon was on Sunday about the need for us to encourage others.
• 40:32
  And that word for cur encouragement literally means to to call, to call beside or to stand up beside somebody and to draw them near.
• 40:43
  And uh incidentally, one of my passages came from Mark chapter 11 when Jesus is talking about prayer, and he talks about you know, if you uh believe or stay to this mountain, go throw yourself into the sea, it'll be done.
• 40:59
  And then he says prayer is like that.
• 41:02
  Where if you believe that you have already received it, it will be yours.
• 41:09
  When you pray, that's how you're supposed to pray.
• 41:12
  Believe that you have already received it, and it will be yours.
• 41:15
  And so Officer Richardson says, Hey, I just knew.
• 41:20
  I I just knew that's kind of a kind of a thing where I just uh I told him he's gonna be all right, everything's gonna be all right, and I just believed it.
• 41:31
  I just knew in my heart, he wasn't panicked, he wasn't freaking out.
• 41:36
  He he just he calmly walked up and was talking to the guy in such a kind way, using extreme compassion, and he literally came up beside him.
• 41:48
  I just talked to him for 40 minutes.
• 41:50
  He just talked.
• 41:51
  It's probably the first time in a long time that this gentleman had anybody talk to him like he was actually a real decent human being, or at least in his own mind.
• 42:00
  Own mind.
• 42:02
  Right?
• 42:02
  Right?
• 42:02
  Because that's the big thing.
• 42:02
  Because that's the big thing.
• 42:04
  People lose hope because they don't think anybody cares.
• 42:04
  People lose hope because they don't think anybody cares.
• 42:08
  And so my point is be the person who cares.
• 42:08
  And so my point is be the person who cares.
• 42:12
  That's the hidden lightness.
• 42:12
  That's the hidden lightness.
• 42:15
  Letting your lightness come out, it shines a light on all the darkness.
• 42:15
  Letting your lightness come out.
• 42:18
  It shines a light on all the darkness.
• 42:21
  And that's good, bad, evil, uh, secrecy, all that stuff.
• 42:21
  And that's good, bad, evil, uh, secrecy, all that stuff.
• 42:27
  Whatever it is.
• 42:27
  Whatever it is.
• 42:29
  That light shines through that darkness.
• 42:34
  And it exposes all the things that are hidden.
• 42:38
  And then people can see to begin to start cleaning up their life.
• 42:45
  Whether that's cleaning up carnage or cleaning up addictions or cleaning up whatever it is.
• 42:53
  It's you can see clearly to do that.
• 42:55
  When somebody lets that lightness shine in the form of encouragement in the form of caring, compassion, kindness, love.
• 43:08
  Somebody can begin to see clearly.
• 43:12
  So Officer Richardson said that moment was the defining moment I think I've ever had in my career.
• 43:19
  It was the most defining moment I think I've ever had in my career.
• 43:24
  He's an 18-year veteran of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
• 43:29
  He has a pastor, he's a pastor of more than 30 years.
• 43:33
  And he said that was the most defining moment I think I've ever had in my career.
• 43:37
  To watch somebody on the edge to be on the brink of jumping.
• 43:42
  And the only thing stopping him was the words that other officers and I shared.
• 43:48
  It was a critical moment.
• 43:50
  And for him to have not jumped, it really broke me down.
• 43:56
  I love this.
• 43:58
  And I was sharing before the break a story about a gentleman who called my congregation out of all the churches.
• 44:06
  We're an hour away from where this gentleman was.
• 44:09
  There are a lot of churches in between here and there.
• 44:14
  A lot of churches.
• 44:16
  But for some reason, he found ours.
• 44:21
  He found our phone number.
• 44:23
  He found our website.
• 44:24
  He called.
• 44:27
  And the right person was there at the right time.
• 44:29
  I obviously couldn't answer.
• 44:30
  It was in the middle of a sermon.
• 44:32
  I didn't even hear the phone ring, to be honest.
• 44:35
  I'm very good at tuning noise out because there's constantly background noise.
• 44:40
  You have the noise of babies and kids kind of running around and playing, and which I love, I encourage.
• 44:48
  That's not a complaint at all.
• 44:50
  I love it.
• 44:52
  But I'm very good at blocking that background noise out.
• 44:55
  I didn't even hear the phone ring.
• 44:58
  This young woman, 18-year-old young woman, picks up the phone.
• 45:02
  She said, I have no idea why I answered it.
• 45:05
  She's like, I just I heard it ring, and I just grabbed it.
• 45:07
  And she's like, I once I answered, I was like, what did I just do?
• 45:11
  And it was a suicide call.
• 45:16
  And she came and got my wife.
• 45:18
  My wife came and got me.
• 45:21
  I went and talked to this man for 20 minutes.
• 45:24
  And at the end, we were able to resolve the issue that was going on with him.
• 45:32
  And uh it was fantastic.
• 45:34
  It was wonderful.
• 45:35
  And he was laughing by the end of our phone conversation.
• 45:38
  We had a great, great conversation.
• 45:41
  And then he uh I gave him my number.
• 45:44
  I gave him my cell phone number.
• 45:46
  I never do that.
• 45:46
  I'm like, man, like I really do not do that.
• 45:51
  But there was just a connection with this guy and this man.
• 45:57
  And he sent me the nicest text yesterday.
• 46:02
  It was actually just yesterday, yesterday afternoon.
• 46:07
  And he said, Pastor, I just want you to know all of you.
• 46:13
  All of you were so nice to me.
• 46:15
  And he he said, I love you, Pastor.
• 46:19
  I'm like, man, it's just that it's so cool.
• 46:21
  And these are the kinds of things that we have to take time with people.
• 46:30
  Is it inconvenient?
• 46:32
  Probably.
• 46:34
  Is it uh is it difficult?
• 46:37
  Are they difficult situations?
• 46:39
  Definitely.
• 46:42
  Is it worth taking the time?
• 46:45
  Always.
• 46:47
  It's always worth it.
• 46:50
  It is always worth it.
• 46:54
  And I talked to that young woman who answered the phone, and I said, You saved a man's life.
• 47:03
  By you being at the right place at the right time, saying the right thing, doing the right thing, you saved a person's life.
• 47:14
  And it's really incredible.
• 47:15
  And so Officer Richardson, like, I feel this story 100% to my core.
• 47:21
  I feel it.
• 47:22
  I don't just read the story, and I'm like, oh, that's a that's a heartwarming story.
• 47:26
  No, I feel this story.
• 47:29
  And so many of you, I know that you do too.
• 47:34
  Because it's it, it's it's a it's a topic that we just don't talk enough about.
• 47:41
  Mental health is a topic that we don't talk enough about.
• 47:43
  There's a still to this day in 2026, there's still a stigma that's attached to it.
• 47:51
  It's like, well, you know, it's people are just anxious, and people need to be on anti-anxiety meds, and there's a lot going on.
• 48:01
  And like, no, no, people need people to talk to.
• 48:07
  Yeah, those things might be true, but we can't ever, we can't ever minimize the importance of people being there to talk to people, to talk them through this.
• 48:19
  And I'm not talking about only therapists and only pastors, and I'm not talking, I'm talking about everybody, all of us, all of us have a part.
• 48:30
  All of us have a role.
• 48:32
  And it's like Officer Richardson said, he's a hundred percent right.
• 48:35
  Man, I can't agree with him anymore.
• 48:40
  He said it was the team effort.
• 48:42
  I'm gonna read this again.
• 48:43
  His quote, it was a team effort.
• 48:46
  Everybody worked together beautifully.
• 48:49
  As I walked up, the first thing that came to my mind was that statement that I just said that, and I just believe that he's gonna be all right.
• 48:59
  He's right.
• 49:00
  He's right.
• 49:00
  It's always a team effort.
• 49:00
  It's always a team effort.
• 49:03
  It is always a team effort.
• 49:03
  It is always a team effort.
• 49:05
  God puts every one of us in people's lives for a reason.
• 49:05
  God puts every one of us in people's lives for a reason.
• 49:09
  I believe that.
• 49:09
  I believe that.
• 49:10
  Even complete strangers.
• 49:10
  Even complete strangers.
• 49:12
  God puts us here for a reason.
• 49:12
  God puts us here for a reason.
• 49:16
  And we've got to be the people who speak up.
• 49:16
  And we've got to be the people who speak up.
• 49:19
  We've got to be the people who step out of our comfort zone.
• 49:19
  We've got to be the people who step out of our comfort zone.
• 49:22
  We've got to be the people who act with love and compassion and kindness and grace and mercy.
• 49:22
  We've got to be the people who act with love and compassion and kindness and grace and mercy.
• 49:32
  Melissa, excuse me, Melissa Camp is the executive director of behavioral health at HCA Florida Memorial Hospital.
• 49:41
  And she said, just being present and listening can make a life-saving difference.
• 49:47
  Here's what she says.
• 49:52
  When they get to a place like that, they're struggling and they need somebody to listen.
• 49:59
  They may feel like you know it may be hard for them to see a way out of whatever they're in.
• 50:04
  And so it's important for them to, you know, just not to feel alone.
• 50:11
  And feel like somebody understands and can help them.
• 50:16
  You see, this is what they're looking for.
• 50:19
  They're looking for help.
• 50:21
  They're looking for somebody to say to verbalize that they care.
• 50:28
  Richardson says that he hopes that people take away a simple but powerful message from this moment.
• 50:38
  He says, realize if you're on the brink of giving up, always know that you have a purpose and a plan.
• 50:46
  If you just hang in there and trust the process, you're going to overcome and see the promise.
• 50:56
  I love Officer Richardson.
• 51:00
  I mean, what a true statement.
• 51:03
  What a great statement.
• 51:06
  What a compassionate statement.
• 51:08
  What a statement that says this is what America is all about.
• 51:14
  Right?
• 51:15
  This is what our nation is about.
• 51:17
  Our nation is about taking care of each other, taking care of our neighbors, treating people with kindness.
• 51:23
  Remember the story.
• 51:24
  This just came to mind.
• 51:26
  Remember the story that happened in Pittsburgh.
• 51:29
  This is part of why I remember it, because Pittsburgh rocks.
• 51:33
  But it happened in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
• 51:37
  Where we had the government shutdown not that long ago.
• 51:43
  Months-long government shutdown.
• 51:46
  And that meant people on welfare were not getting food stamps.
• 51:53
  And a guy and his children.
• 51:57
  They're like, okay, well, we may not be able to solve the world's problem.
• 52:02
  And the food insecurity in the United States, but we can make a difference on our own block.
• 52:09
  So they bought a whole bunch of food.
• 52:12
  They put it in a box in the yard.
• 52:15
  And they just put it, put a sign, like free for anybody who needs it.
• 52:21
  And the box was emptied like within a matter of minutes.
• 52:24
  And they realized, wow, this is a this is a really big need.
• 52:29
  And they kept refilling the box.
• 52:31
  And they uh he he did a TikTok about it.
• 52:36
  And next thing you know, it became a national movement, and people were doing this.
• 52:40
  They were inspired by him and his and his children, and they started putting boxes up all over the nation.
• 52:47
  Churches were putting them out, residents were putting them out.
• 52:51
  Nonprofit organizations were putting them out, boxes and boxes, uh, like freight train loads of food were being shared across the nation.
• 53:03
  It's so astounding to me that this kind of stuff is so viral that it happens so quickly that we're blessed to live in an age where you can put stuff on the internet and it's just you snap your fingers, you blink, and you wake up and you're like, wow.
• 53:20
  Like this story just reached 28 million people.
• 53:27
  And people start go fund me, and people support people in need, and they're doing this all the time right here in the United States of America.
• 53:38
  And so I believe in this nation.
• 53:40
  I believe in our law enforcement.
• 53:42
  I believe in our citizens.
• 53:44
  I believe, believe it or not, I believe in our political leaders.
• 53:52
  I believe in this great nation.
• 53:56
  And the way that we were founded and and I mean, we're celebrating our 250-year anniversary.
• 54:02
  Uh, let's celebrate that.
• 54:04
  Let's celebrate with gusto.
• 54:06
  Let's let's be proud of our nation.
• 54:08
  Be proud of what all we've accomplished, be proud of how far we've come.
• 54:14
  Be proud that we're a nation who have social media influencers, and man, they're getting more and more popular, where people are becoming influencers for the purpose of blessing other people.
• 54:30
  What an opportunity.
• 54:34
  What a great opportunity to be able to have this at our fingertips.
• 54:40
  I mean, think about before how long it took for a story to get out there, and it had to go through the media, it had to go through certain chains in order for a story to reach the masses.
• 54:52
  And now the media can be completely bypassed.
• 54:59
  I mean, the media still has an influence, but they can be completely bypassed, and stories can become wildly viral without ever even reaching the media.
• 55:11
  What an opportunity.
• 55:12
  What a blessing.
• 55:14
  What a great moment that we're living in.
• 55:17
  And so my message to you is do what's right.
• 55:22
  Do what's right.
• 55:24
  Take the time, pick up the phone, listen to somebody, answer the text message, uh, talk to somebody.
• 55:32
  When somebody's in despair and you know it, just talk to them, encourage them.
• 55:36
  Cheer them on, be their biggest supporter.
• 55:39
  Get one of those little fingers, you know, the wavy fingers that you get at the ball games.
• 55:44
  Get one of those foam fingers and just wave it and tell that person that they're the best person that you've ever met.
• 55:51
  Cheer people on.
• 55:53
  Don't be ashamed to cheer people on and to encourage them.
• 55:58
  We could use a whole lot of encouragement in this nation right now.
• 56:00
  Of encouragement in this nation right now, and uh quite frankly, people deserve it.
• 56:02
  And uh, quite frankly, people deserve it.
• 56:05
  They deserve the encouragement.
• 56:05
  They deserve the encouragement.
• 56:08
  People deserve a second chance.
• 56:08
  People deserve a second chance.
• 56:11
  People deserve to be loved.
• 56:13
  Uh, what a great moment that we're living in.
• 56:16
  Friends, that is the hidden lightness.
• 56:16
  Friends, that is the hidden lightness.
• 56:18
  You can find more out about my show and get all the latest podcasts if you go to the menu navigation bar at America Outloud.news under our shows or schedule.
• 56:18
  You can find more out about my show and get all the latest podcasts if you go to the menu navigation bar at AmericaOutloud.news under our shows or schedule.
• 56:26
  You'll be in the know.
• 56:26
  You'll be in the know.
• 56:27
  There is a hidden lightness that shines inside of all of us.
• 56:27
  There is a hidden lightness that shines inside of all of us.
• 56:30
  When there's so much darkness that envelops the world, remember that it doesn't take much light to expose that darkness and to ultimately inspire other people.
• 56:38
  Join me in being a light, and I'm