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A gripping bodycam video reveals the tense moment when New York City police officers intervened to save a woman standing on the steel cables of the Brooklyn Bridge, high above the East River, on Wednesday.
According to the New York Police Department, officers from the Emergency Service Unit were dispatched at approximately 7:38 p.m. following reports of a distressed individual on the bridge.
In the footage, a member of the NYPD’s Emergency Service Unit can be seen approaching the woman on the bridge’s steel cables, eventually managing to bring her to safety.
The recently released video captures officers scaling the bridge to reach the woman, whose feet were precariously hanging over the side of one of the bridge’s steel cables.
“I just wanna talk,” one officer tells the woman. “What’s happening today?”
The officer continued speaking with the woman, urging her to accept help.
NYPD Emergency Service Unit officers climbed the Brooklyn Bridge to rescue a woman after 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 okay, 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.