On March 11, 2005, Kevin Berthia made what he thought would be his final journey. The 22-year-old father from Oakland, California, had never visited the Golden Gate Bridge before, but on this dark morning, he drove there with one purpose. After years of battling depression, the birth of his premature daughter, and overwhelming medical bills of nearly $250,000, he felt he had no other choice.
Berthia parked his car at the north end of the famous bridge, left his keys in the ignition, and walked out onto the 1.7-mile span. He climbed over the safety railing and found himself standing on a narrow ledge 220 feet above the churning waters of San Francisco Bay. As he prepared to jump, counting down his final moments, something unexpected happened.
California Highway Patrol Sergeant Kevin Briggs was passing by during his regular patrol when he spotted the young man on the wrong side of the railing. According to People, Briggs calmly approached and said, “Hi, is it okay if I come over and speak with you for a while? I’m not going to touch you. I’m just here to talk with you and to listen.” What followed was a 92-minute conversation that would save Berthia’s life. Briggs later described it as a ‘miracle’, a moment when human connection proved stronger than despair.
The guardian who made suicide prevention his life’s work
Throughout his 23-year career with the California Highway Patrol, Briggs came to be known as “the Guardian of the Golden Gate Bridge.” He helped prevent more than 200 people from jumping to their deaths, using nothing but compassion and listening skills. His approach was simple but powerful: he never tried to tell people what to do, instead choosing to listen with empathy and understanding.
Briggs had his own struggles with mental health, having survived cancer and childhood trauma. This personal experience helped him connect with people in crisis. “I never try to tell anyone what to do,” Briggs explained. “I just listen with empathy and understanding, let them speak their peace, then get them to think about coming back over the rail.”
Kevin Briggs is a former California highway patrol officer who has stopped more than 200 people from committing suicide on the Golden Gate Bridge.
— Morbid Knowledge (@Morbidful) March 11, 2024
When Briggs finds a suicidal individual, he usually starts a conversation with them by asking how they are doing, then asking their… pic.twitter.com/l2CJNtg3CV
The conversation with Berthia was particularly meaningful for both men, though they wouldn’t realize its full impact for years to come. After talking Berthia down from the ledge, the young father was taken to a local hospital, where he spent 11 days recovering. However, his mental health struggles continued, and over the following eight years, he would attempt suicide 22 more times. The famous photograph of him on the bridge, published on the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle, only made his shame and depression worse.
A reunion that changed everything and brought new hope
The turning point came in 2013 when the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention wanted to honor Briggs for his life-saving work. They asked for one of the people he had helped to present his award at a ceremony in New York City. The problem was that Briggs had never stayed in contact with any of the individuals whose lives he had saved, wanting to avoid being a trigger for painful memories.
7 ) Kevin Briggs, a former California highway patrol officer, is known as the "Guardian of the Golden Gate" for preventing over 200 suicides on the iconic bridge. He famously spent 92 minutes talking down Kevin Berthia, who later became a suicide prevention advocate.
— Saffron Sniper (@Saffron_Sniper1) August 21, 2025
A sheer… pic.twitter.com/DxmK4XlTmr
Through Berthia’s mother, who had written Briggs a thank-you letter years earlier, they arranged for the reunion. Berthia’s mother told her son he had won a trip to New York from a radio station, not revealing the true purpose. When Berthia arrived and finally met Briggs face to face, he was shocked to learn that the man who had saved him was a police officer. “Being a Black man from Oakland, I’d never had any great run-ins with law enforcement,” Berthia admitted. “If I’d known who he was, I never would have opened up to him like I did.”
But in that moment, none of that mattered. The reunion sparked a deep friendship that Berthia describes as being “more like brothers.” When he gave an impromptu speech at the award ceremony, sharing his story openly for the first time, the entire room stood up in response. This reaction showed him that he wasn’t alone in his struggles and that his story could help others. Since then, both men have dedicated their lives to mental health advocacy and suicide prevention, traveling the country together to share their powerful message of hope and human connection.
