The Big Jump

Originally Aired: January 11, 1951 Dragnet #83, "The Big Jump," Sergeants Joe Friday and Ben Romero race against the clock when they receive a call about a potential jumper at the Fitzroy building downtown. Walter Harrison, a 41-year-old mental patient, has climbed out onto a narrow 14-inch ledge thirteen stories above the street and threatens to leap to his death at exactly 2:00 p.m. The situation turns more dangerous when officers discover Harrison is armed with a carpenter's hammer and takes swings at anyone who tries to approach him on the ledge. With crowds gathering below and rescue nets being stretched out by the fire department, the detectives have less than half an hour to talk Harrison down. As the clock ticks toward the deadline, Friday and his team piece together what happened. Harrison came in for a routine physical examination with Dr. Turner when he suddenly became violent, claiming the medical staff was trying to kill him. After assaulting the doctor, he fled to the window ledge. Now, with Harrison's sister nearly hysterical and previous attempts to reach him failing, Friday must find a way to prevent the jump before time runs out.