The man was at the rail threatening to jump as police arrived.
WEST SPRINGFIELD - Police responding to a report of a suicidal man on the Memorial Bridge at 9:15 p.m. Monday were able to persuade the 59-year-old man to back away from the railing long enough to place him in custody, police said.
The man, whose name was not released, was not arrested but was taken by ambulance to Baystate Medical Center for a psychiatric evaluation, police said.
West Springfield firefighters deployed rescue boats onto the Connecticut River as a precaution, but they were not needed, police said.