FORT LEE — Preventing a man from jumping off the George Washington Bridge is an heroic feat, that’s for sure. 
 
 But when you do it over and over, the word "superhero" comes to mind. 
 
 Port Authority Police Officer Jesse Turano was patrolling the bridge in his cruiser at about 10 p.m. Tuesday, toward the end of his regular shift, when he got a call about a pedestrian who had ignored a security guard’s order not to venture onto the closed walkway on the north side of the bridge’s upper level. 
 
 Turano, a seven-year veteran assigned to the bridge since 2010, cruised the far-right lane, closest to the walkway, where first he encountered the female security guard and then the man who had ignored her order. 
 
 "I asked him to stop several times and he refused," said Turano, 33, who lives in West Milford. "I kept driving, and as I looked at him I got the sense that he was possibly emotionally disturbed. I could just tell by his mannerisms and his behavior." 
 
 In the nick of time, Turano chased down the would-be jumper, grabbed him around the waist and hauled him back to safety just as the man tried to fling himself over the railing. 
 
 Port Authority spokesman Steve Coleman said Wednesday that Turano has saved at least four other would-be jumpers on this bridge this year. 
 
 Turano shrugged off the figure and said it wasn’t something he and other officers kept track of. 
 
 Turano said he tried to stop the man by turning on his flashers, and eventually got out of his cruiser and climbed over the railing separating the bridge roadway from the walkway. 
 
 He said he followed the man as he walked at an increasingly brisk pace, his hands in his pockets, clearly trying to keep his distance from the officer. The water side of the walkway is bound by a three-foot masonry wall, topped by a metal railing extending up another couple of feet. 
 
 Turano ordered the man several times to take his hands out of his pockets. When he finally did, the officer rushed him. 
 
 CONNECT WITH US 
 
 
 
 On mobile or desktop: • Like The Star-Ledger on Facebook • Follow @starledger on Twitter And check out our redesigned mobile site by visiting NJ.com from any mobile browser. 
 
 "All of a sudden he put his hands on the outer railing," Turano said. "He put his foot on the cement, and he went to kick off the cement, and I just jumped at him. I put my right arm around his waist, then I wrapped my left arm around him, and once I got a secure grip on him I used my body weight to pull him down onto the walkway. 
 
 "I handcuffed him for both of our safety, then called for back up." 
 
 Turano rode in the ambulance with the man to Bergen Regional Medical Center, where he was admitted for psychological evaluation. The man, who was not identified, told Turano he’d been out of work for three years and was tired of looking for a job. 
 
 "He said he had enough and he wanted to kill himself," Turano said. "He kept thanking me and I said the best thanks you can give me is if you get yourself some help." 
 
 The GWB had a record 43 suicide attempts in 2012, 18 of them resulting in death, the New York Post reported in January. 
 
 Bobby Egbert, a spokesman for the Port Authority Policemen’s Benevolent Association, called Turano "an exceptional example of the dedication to duty that these police officers have." 
 
 Turano took it in stride. 
 
 "I guess its always good if you save somebody’s life," he said. "But I don’t really think about it too much." 
 
 RELATED COVERAGE 
 
 • George Washington Bridge saw record 18 suicides in 2012 
 
 
 
 • Fatal leap from George Washington Bridge is first of 2013 ||||| FORT LEE — A Port Authority police officer made a dramatic rescue of a man attempting to leap to his death from the George Washington Bridge Tuesday night. 
 
 Port Authority spokesman Steve Coleman said that around 10 p.m., Officer Jesse Turano received a report of a potentially suicidal male. 
 
 The man had just walked past a security guard stationed on the eastern end of the bridge and onto its north walkway, ignoring the guard's commands to stop. 
 
 Turano located the man, a 40-year-old Queens resident, and turned on the emergency light on his cruiser to get his attention. Instead of stopping, however, the man sped up, running along the walkway, seeingly intent on making the more than 200-foot plunge into the Hudson River. 
 
 "The man then grabbed the outer railing of the bridge and tried to jump, but Officer Turano grabbed him around the waist while the man was airborne, pulled him back onto the walkway and secured him with handcuffs," Coleman said. 
 
 Medical units were called to the scene, and the man was taken to Bergen Regional Medical Center for evaluation. ||||| Perth Amboy asks state to offer security on the bridge 
 
 The Victory Bridge spans the Raritan River, connecting Perth Amboy and Sayreville. The state bridge has become known as the “suicide bridge” due to the number of people who have attempted or have jumped to their death from the span. (Photo: ~File photo ) Story Highlights A 19-year-old Perth Amboy man apparently jumped off the Victory Bridge on Monday night. The man survived and was rescued by city personnel. 
 
 The man was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick after suffering an apparent fractured femur and possible internal injuries. 
 
 The man jumped the same day city officials met with the new state DOT commissioner to request a barrier be placed on the "suicide bridge." 
 
 Mayor Wilda Diaz also has requested that State Troopers monitor the bridge until a barrier is installed. 
 
 A day after hundreds of people marched to the top of the Victory Bridge calling for a barrier to be placed on the Route 35 span to prevent more people from jumping to their death, a 19-year-old city man jumped off the bridge. 
 
 The man managed to survive his fall and was rushed to the hospital with a possible broken leg, police said. 
 
 Around 8 p.m. Monday police received a call from a man who was fishing in the Raritan River under the bridge. He reported hearing a loud splash but didn't see anything. The man then heard yells for help, according to Police Capt. Lawrence Cattano. 
 
 The man spotted someone in the water who was being carried away by the current. 
 
 Cattano said the city's police and fire boats were sent out. A tug boat set off a flare guiding first responders to the area where the man was in the water. Cattano said the man was in the water for about 40 minutes before he was pulled to safety. 
 
 RELATED: Hundreds walk to ask for barriers on the Victory Bridge 
 
 The 19-year-old man was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick after suffering an apparent fracture femur and possible internal injuries. Police took the man's mother and uncle to the hospital. 
 
 EDITORIAL: NJ must install barriers on 'Suicide Bridge' 
 
 The man's jump off the bridge comes at a time where there has been increased attention focused on the span that connects Perth Amboy and Sayreville along Route 35. Sunday's march was held just days after the funeral for Giancarlos Taveras, 16, a junior at the Academy for Urban Leadership Charter High School, who is believed to have jumped off the bridge nearly two weeks ago. His body was found on some rocks near the base of the bridge on Sept. 20. That same day the body of a Plainfield man who had apparently jumped off the Driscoll Bridge was found nearby. 
 
 Taveras death was the 82nd time someone has attempted or committed suicide since the 110-foot bridge was redesigned in 2004, creating a high arch in the middle. City officials have been calling for the state Department of Transportation to install a barrier on the bridge to prevent suicides since the redesigned bridge opened. 
 
 “I believe they should have a state trooper on the bridge 24-hours a day, 7 days a week to let them know how it feels. Let them feel the burden, let them feel the pain just like Perth Amboy.” Perth Amboy Mayor Wilda Diaz 
 
 Mayor Wilda Diaz, along with state Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-19th District and Police Chief Benjamin Ruiz met Monday with state Commissioner of Transportation Jamie Fox to discuss the bridge such as the pain the suicides have caused the families, and the financial hardship the bridge puts on the city to conduct rescue and recovery operations. 
 
 Diaz said the bridge is state property, but yet its this city's emergency personnel who are always the first responders when someone jumps off the bridge. She said the rescue or recovery operations put the city's personnel at risk. She noted one police officer injured trying to rescue someone attempting to jump off the bridge now is on permanent disability. 
 
 "We want to see some kind of barrier, fencing or mesh. We want them (state officials) to make this a priority. The state built the bridge they should be responsible for it," said Diaz who fears there will be copy cat suicide attempts. 
 
 Going forward Diaz wants the state to put security on the bridge. 
 
 "I believe they should have a state trooper on the bridge 24-hours a day, 7 days a week to let them know how it feels. Let them feel the burden, let them feel the pain just like Perth Amboy," Diaz said. 
 
 Diaz said Fox offered to look at the issue and hopefully work toward a solution. 
 
 "Meantime the state has to start sending us help here," Diaz said. "Don't put the burden on us." 
 
 Staff Writer Suzanne Russell: 732-565-7335; srussell@mycentraljersey.com 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://mycj.co/1vu9gwg
– Port Authority Police Officer Jesse Turano was patrolling the George Washington Bridge Tuesday night when he got a call about a man who had entered a closed walkway, even after a security guard ordered him not to. When he got there, Turano "could just tell by his mannerisms" that the man "was possibly emotionally disturbed," he tells the Star-Ledger. When the man put his hands on the outer railing and braced himself to kick off, Turano sprang into action. "Officer Turano grabbed him around the waist while the man was airborne [and] pulled him back onto the walkway," a Port Authority rep tells NJ.com. All of which might be amazing for some people, but not for Turano—it was the fifth time this year he has stopped a would-be jumper, says the rep. Turano shrugs off any suggestion that he is, in the Star-Ledger's words, a "superhero." "I guess it's always good if you save somebody's life," he says. "But I don't really think about it too much." The jumper, at least, seemed appreciative. "He kept thanking me and I said the best thanks you can give me is if you get yourself some help." The New York Post reports that 2012 saw a record number of suicides on the bridge: 18, as well as 43 attempts.