A man threatened to jump from the Edmund Pettus Bridge Monday morning but police and relatives were able to talk him down after an hour-long standoff.

Selma police were notified at approximately 8:30 a.m. that a man in a highly agitated state was threatening to jump off the bridge.

Police were advised that the man entered a local business and told store personnel that, due to problems of a domestic nature, he no longer wanted to live and was going to jump off the bridge.

According to Police Lt. Kenny King, shift commander, Officer Willie Billingsley spotted the man on the outer ledge of the bridge. The man had climbed over the guardrail and was standing on a concrete foot that protrudes from the bridge and serves as the base for a light pole.

The man warned the officer away by threatening to jump.

As backup officers began to arrive on the scene, Billingsley reported that the sirens of the response vehicles were causing the subject to become even more agitated.

King, along with Sgt. Joe Bills and officers Ray Moore, Walter Curtis and Jeff Persinger, and Deputy Mike Granthum of the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department, blocked both vehicle and pedestrian traffic on the bridge.

Members of the Selma Fire Department and the Selma-Dallas County Rescue Squad were in place on the water in boats with life jackets.

The man’s brother also joined police in their efforts to talk him down, King added.

Police gave the man cigarettes and listened to him patiently. At times he would lean over the guardrail as if he were ready to get off the footing, then he would step back as if he might jump.

After about one hour, their efforts were successful. At approximately 10 a.m., the man agreed to come down.

King praised the efforts of those involved.

Traffic was re-opened on the bridge shortly after the man agreed to come down. He was transported to Vaughan Regional Medical Center for evaluation. No charges have been filed at this time.