Medal of Bravery

• Awarded on: August 27, 1998
• Invested on: May 10, 1999

On May 30, 1997, Cst. Michael Bradford of the Toronto Metropolitan Police Force rescued a suicidal man as he jumped from an overpass bridge in North York, Ontario. Cst. Bradford was at a hospital attending to another police matter when the distraught individual ran past him and out of the emergency ward. Cst. Bradford chased him and reached him just as he vaulted from the bridge. The officer thrust himself over the railing, grabbed hold of the falling man and held onto his waistband. The heavyset victim struggled and pulled his rescuer half way over the railing but the officer hooked his feet into the bars and kept a firm grip on him. The two balanced precariously in this position until other officers arrived and helped pull the struggling man back over the top rail.