(WSVN) - A man on top of a building in South Beach threatening to jump. Three Miami Beach Police officers race to the scene. One of these officers later finds out he has a connection to this man that you may not believe. Rosh Lowe has the story in tonight’s edition of The Lowedown.
Dwayne Tingle: “I actually spent the night in the building, so when I woke up that morning, I decided, ‘OK, it’s time to do what I’m going to do.'”
What was Dwayne Tingle going to do? This picture tells the story.
At 47 years old, he wanted to end his life. He called 911 to say he was going to jump from the 10th floor of a building under construction on Miami Beach.
Dwayne Tingle: “I’m already at the top of the building.”
Dispatcher: “What do you mean you are at the top of the building?”
Dwayne Tingle: “On top of the building.”
Dispatcher: “Don’t do anything dumb, OK? Please?”
The dispatcher pleaded with Dwayne as Miami Beach Police rushed to the scene.
Dwayne Tingle: “I’m just standing here, leaning up against the wood things. So all I need to do is turn around, climb over the wood things and then let go.”
Dispatcher: “You are not going to give us a chance to help you? Please?”
Dwayne Tingle: “I was really making a decision to do a permanent solution for a bunch of temporary problems.”
Miami Beach Police arrived. The officers climbed the 10 flights of stairs, racing against the clock.
Miami Beach Police Lt. Danny Morgalo: “As I’m lumbering up these stairs carrying a heavy laptop, I said, ‘You know what? When I get up there, I’m going to be winded.’ I said, ‘If I can make this man laugh at me for a second, then I’ve got a shot at making a connection.'”
These were tense moments. But the officers were able to talk Dwayne literally off the ledge.
Dwayne Tingle: “We’re all just people, and I kind of even forgot that they were officers.”
Dwayne says he was on the ledge on the 10th floor of a building located off of Sixth Street and Alton Road for about half an hour before he called 911. And there’s more to this story. One of the officers who saved his life, it turns out, has a connection to Dwyane.
After Dwayne was safely on the ground, he was placed in a treatment facility to battle his addiction to crack cocaine.
Miami Beach Police Sgt. Jeffrey Motola: “It happens to be that, when I went to visit Mr. Tingle, he mentioned, ‘There’s somebody with your last name here.’ When he said the name, I said, ‘That’s my brother.'”
It’s hard to believe, but Dwayne ended up rooming with Sgt. Jeffrey Motola’s brother at the treatment facility.
Sgt. Jeffrey Motola: “It’s like I’m going to play the lottery type of thing. It’s incredible, when I realized that they’re together.”
Dwayne Tingle: “Sometimes people say, ‘If God doesn’t do anything else for me today, he did enough. That’s how I feel about these guys. If they don’t do anything else, they’ve done enough. They saved my life.”
On the day we spoke with Dwayne, he returned to the 10th floor. This time, though, he turned away from the ledge and hugged the men who gave him another chance.
And that’s when the tears flow. With each day comes another chance. A chance to live.
Dwayne Tingle: “Tough times don’t last, but tough people do.”
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