MONTICELLO – Route 17 in Monticello was shut down going in both directions on Friday when the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office was responding to a woman who had suicidal thoughts.

At approximately 2:45 p.m., Deputy Sheriff Rory Meyer was proceeding southbound on Old Liberty Road in Monticello when he came upon a female subject who was straddling the railing of a bridge that crosses over State Route 17. 

Deputy Meyer stopped and asked the woman if she was okay and the woman indicated that she was going to jump. Deputy Meyer immediately called for backup and requested that State Route 17 be shut down. 

The Sheriff’s Crises Negotiation Team responded to the scene and made contact with the woman. The lead negotiator, Lieutenant Cheryl Crumley, established a rapport with the subject and determined that she was distraught over a separation from her child. 

After about an hour of conversation, Lieutenant Crumley convinced the woman to come back over the railing and go to the hospital.

The scene snarled Friday afternoon traffic on State Route 17 between exits 104 and 105 as State Department of Transportation personnel and police shut down the highway. Route 17 was reopened just before 4 p.m.

The Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office started their Crises Negotiation Team (CNT) about six years ago. 

“Prior to that we had one detective with some training but it wasn’t an actual unit that is as comprehensive as it is today,” said Sheriff Mike Schiff. “There are currently five deputies in the Patrol Division and one in the Jail that are certified as negotiators by the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) and Lieutenant Crumley is also certified by the FBI.”

The Sheriff said that in addition to dealing with emotionally disturbed persons, the CNT unit is typically deployed as part of the Emergency Services Unit when the Sheriff’s Office executes high-risk search warrants. “We want to have them on hand in case a search warrant turns into a barricaded subject situation,” said the Sheriff.

The Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Monticello Police, State Police and the Sullivan County Office of Emergency Management. The subject was transported to Garnet Health Medical Center - Catskills by patrol car.