Cops convince man not to jump off bridge after 5-hour standoff

Cops took a man threatening to leap off the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge into custody Wednesday after spending more than five hours convincing him to climb back to safety, officials said.

The dramatic standoff began about 8:30 a.m. when the unidentified jumper, abandoned his car on the lower Staten Island-bound roadway of the Upper New York bay span.

NYPD Emergency Services Unit cops clad in helmets and rope lines spent five hours talking to the would-be jumper, convincing him not to commit suicide, NY Daily news reports.

He finally agreed about 1:50 p.m. and was expected to be taken to an area hospital for evaluation.