MI- Drunk bridge jumper takes plunge in the buff

6-19-2009 Michigan:

Cops, emergency rescue crew make rescue on the riverbank

Holland, MI — A Plainwell man found naked with a blood-alcohol level more than three times the legal limit near the River Avenue bridge Wednesday night, June 17, will likely face charges of indecent exposure, police said Thursday, June 18.

Police arrived on scene around 10:45 p.m. to discover a 38-year-old man had jumped over a wall near the east side of the bridge. He was nude, standing on some rocks near the water’s edge, Capt. Jack Dykstra of the Holland police said.

“He was so out of it and intoxicated, we couldn’t ask him to walk out of that area,” Dykstra said, so the Holland Fire Department used a ladder truck for the man to latch on and get back to the road.

Central dispatch received at least four calls about the incident Wednesday night, in which callers described a naked man running across River Avenue.

One caller stated two men were having sex beneath the bridge. The caller said there was loud arguing going on. Another caller reported seeing one of the men with a knife.

After police helped the man to safety, they questioned him, but “he was so incoherent, they couldn’t make heads or tails of him,” Dykstra said. “All of a sudden, he’d get really angry.”

Police determined the man’s blood-alcohol level was .30. He was taken to Holland Hospital for psychological and physical examination.

No one appeared to be injured in the incident, Dykstra said.

The second man, a 45-year-old Holland resident, also had a blood-alcohol level of .24, Dykstra said. He was not taken into custody.

Police did not believe the man was attempting suicide by jumping over the bridge wall.

No weapons were discovered at the scene. Police are unsure if the men were engaged in a sex act prior to their arrival, Dykstra said.

Police are reviewing video taken by a security camera under the bridge and speaking with witnesses to determine appropriate charges. Dykstra said an indecent exposure charge is likely for the Plainwell man. ..Source.. by MEGAN SCHMIDT, The Holland Sentinel