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Intense body camera footage captured New York City police officers rescuing a woman who was positioned high on the steel cables of the Brooklyn Bridge over the East River on Wednesday.
According to the NYPD, members of the Emergency Service Unit were called to the bridge at about 7:38 p.m. after receiving reports of a person in distress.
An NYPD Emergency Service Unit officer reaches a woman on the steel cables of the Brooklyn Bridge before bringing her back to safety. (NYPD)
The newly released footage shows officers scaling the bridge structure to reach the woman, whose feet were hanging over the side of one of the bridge’s steel cables.
“I just wanna talk,” an officer can be heard telling her. “What’s happening today?”
The officer kept speaking calmly with the woman, encouraging her to let responders help her.
NYPD Emergency Service Unit officers climbed the Brooklyn Bridge and rescued the woman following nearly an hour of negotiations, police said. (NYPD)
“I wanna help you, that’s why I’m up here right now,” the officer said. “I genuinely care, I do. It’s a permanent solution to a temporary problem. It really is. I don’t know what you’re going through, but I want to understand. We have services we can get you to.
“The strongest thing you can do right now is accept help, I promise you,” he continued. “That’s the strongest thing you can do.”
As the woman stood on the cable while holding onto another support cable with one arm, an officer moved close enough to wrap his arms around her and pull her to safety.
Body camera footage shows NYPD officers rescuing a woman from atop the steel cables of the Brooklyn Bridge. (NYPD)
“Don’t do it. Don’t do it, please. Please, please,” the officer said. “I got you. You’re OK, I promise. I got you, I promise. Everything’s gonna be OK. You’re not in trouble.”
Police said officers spent nearly an hour talking with the woman before safely bringing her down the bridge.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch shared the bodycam video on social media and praised the responding officers.
“This video of a rescue last night on the Brooklyn Bridge will take your breath away,” Tisch wrote.
Body camera video captures an NYPD officer speaking with a woman in crisis atop the Brooklyn Bridge before rescuing her. (NYPD)
“High above the East River, NYPD ESU officers climbed onto the Brooklyn Bridge to reach a woman in crisis who was threatening to jump,” she continued. “For nearly an hour, they stayed with her, spoke with her, and waited for the moment they could safely pull her back from the edge. The care, courage, and compassion these officers showed was just extraordinary. May God bless them.”
Officials said the rescue unfolded during rush hour and forced the closure of all eastbound lanes on the bridge for several hours.
