A man who was about to leap from a bridge has been rescued by a Putnam County Sheriff Deputy. 

A man parked his car on the westbound side of I-84 in Brewster Monday afternoon and was standing on the edge of Veterans Memorial Bridge, holding a piece of paper.  The bridge goes over Route 6. 

A Sheriff's Deputy arrived on scene within two minutes of the 911 dispatch.  He found the man with his arms raised, appearing to be praying and about to jump off the bridge.  The Deputy approached slowly from behind and when close enough, grabbed the man and wrestled him to the ground. 

A Sergeant then arrived and took the 36 year old man into custody.  He told police that he wanted to die and that it was a suicide note in his hand.  The man was taken to Putnam Hospital Center for a mental health evaluation. 

Sgt. Thomas Lee reported, in his opinion, Deputy Kevin Osika went above and beyond the call of duty, placing his own life at risk of falling off the bridge while wrestling to save the life of this individual.