▶ Watch Video: Officer who rescued woman on Brooklyn Bridge was in first week on elite unit
An officer who saved a woman’s life on the Brooklyn Bridge last week said the rescue happened on just his third day on the job with the New York Police Department’s elite Emergency Service Unit, which takes on some of the most dangerous rescues.
The incident happened on July 8 when a call came in for a person in distress on top of the Brooklyn Bridge, according to the NYPD. After an hour of compassionate negotiation approximately 200 feet above the East River, Officer Cristian Yepes wrapped his arms around the woman and was able to bring her to safety.
“I got you, I promise,” Yepes is heard telling the woman on body camera video.
“The care, courage, and compassion these officers showed was just extraordinary,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a statement on social media.
The rescue was one of three by the same unit within one week.
“This is what I’ve been training for, this is what I’ve prepared for,” Yepes said in an interview. “And my ultimate goal is to make sure everyone’s safe.”
Yepes was a patrol officer for seven years. He was fresh off the eight months of intensive training required to join the elite unit, and still it was his humanity that helped clinch the rescue.
“Yeah, we have the uniform. Yes, we’re police officers,” he said, “but we’re just human at the end of the day.”
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For more information about mental health care resources and support, The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) HelpLine can be reached Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.–10 p.m. ET, at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264).