BOSTON -- A security officer from Tufts Medical Center who had been on the job for a little more than one year rushed to the aid of a man Friday night who was trying to jump off an eight-story parking garage.

Officer Rommel Clarke said that around 7 p.m. last Friday, he was told that a man was sitting on the edge of the garage wall, high above Boston's theater district.

"This is basically where he was, right here, with his legs over this side dangling," Clarke said as he stood by the wall.

"A gentleman was up there, thinking about jumping," said Boston Emergency Medical Services chief Rich Serino.

"At that point in time, he actually turned around and was hanging off, with just his hands holding on right here," said Clarke. "That's when I ran, I grabbed him here and I was basically like this, holding him up."

Clarke and another responding officer pulled the man, described only as being in his 50s, to safety. He was struggling, despondent and angry he had been saved.

"People say he was in the right place at the right time," said one of Clarke's colleagues. "But you can put 100 people in the right place at the right time and in my experience, what distinguishes a hero is the ones that act."

Clarke is shunning the word hero to describe his actions. He said he has seen the gentleman he saved.

"He's thanked me. He's very, very happy," said Clarke. "Like I told him, he's got grandkids and he has something to live for and that's not a reason to jump. So, he's pretty happy now."

Clarke was honored at Tufts Medical Center Tuesday.

He called the whole incident "very scary."