T.I., real name Clifford Harris, recently talked a suicidal man out of killing himself by jumping off a 22-story building in Atlanta. T.I. stepped in and helped police negotiators talk a man out of jumping to his death Wednesday afternoon.
“He came to the scene and offered to talk to him, we told the young man that, and he came down,” Officer James Polite with Atlanta police told the AJC.
When the man threatening to jump came down, T.I. was waiting and the two talked for a few minutes, Polite said.
The man, whose name was not released, was then transported to Grady Memorial Hospital for treatment, Polite said. He will not face charges, Polite said.
Shortly before 4 p.m., man went to the roof of 400 Colony Square Building, located at 1201 Peachtree Street.
Peachtree Street was temporarily blocked off between 14th and 15th streets, and MARTA buses were being re-routed, Polite said. The street was expected to reopen shortly after 5 p.m., Polite said.
Witnesses in nearby buildings reported seeing a man sitting on the edge of the building.
“He is visible from the street level,” Atlanta fire Capt. Jolyon Bundridge told the AJC.
An airbag unit was at the scene if the man jumped, Bundridge said. But it is difficult to move once it is in place, he said.
T.I., whose real name is Clifford Harris, is a Grammy-award winning musician who has had his own run-ins with the law. He has a court hearing scheduled Friday following an arrest last month in Los Angeles while on probation.
But Atlanta police credit him with helping avoid a potentially devastating event, Polite told WSB Radio.
“He didn’t have to stop. He could’ve kept on going about his business,” Polite said. “We’re happy it ended the way it did, and we thank him.” [Source]
We’re just glad that T.I. seems to be doing some good before he goes behind bars. Just when you think you have him figured out, he goes and do something like this. Only time will tell if this good favor will help him out with his sentencing.
