NEW YORK – Dramatic video footage shows highly trained NYPD Special Ops detectives in action as they saved a distraught woman by climbing over a glass wall on the edge of a 54-story rooftop in Midtown Manhattan last week to complete the rescue.
Members of NYPD’s Emergency Service Unit (ESU) responded last Wednesday at about 3:10 p.m. to a Midtown building on East 29th Street to bring the 33-year-old woman back to safety. She was reportedly preparing to jump from the ledge of the 54-floor building, according to police.
Bodycam footage shows ESU team members were initially separated from the woman by a glass divider, forcing them to deploy a rope operation to reach her, the New York Post reported.
The daring rescue took place on the 54th floor. (NYPD News)
NYPD News posted video online that shows at least two ESU members holding onto the woman’s left arm through a slight opening of the seven-foot high barriers while another tethered detective jumped over the glass wall to join another ESU member who was already assisting the woman on the ledge.
Two detectives then hoisted the woman above the glass wall while Special Ops personnel waited on the other side to secure her.
WATCH VIDEO
When the public needs help, they call the police. When the police need help, they call ESU. @NYPDSpecialops ESU detectives recently saved a distraught woman on a rooftop 54-stories up using their rope rescue skills.
Watch the body-worn-camera footage of the rescue⬇️ pic.twitter.com/mQrg5o3M8M
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) May 6, 2024
Police said the distraught woman was transported to Bellevue Hospital for treatment.
“When the public needs help, they call the police,” NYPD News said on X. “When the police need help, they call ESU.”
The National Suicide Prevention hotline is available to help 24/7. People needing assistance can call 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
