Port Authority eyes harness-equipped unit on the GWB
AT LEAST ONE Emergency Service Unit tandem — two cops equipped with harnesses — would be permanently stationed on the George Washington Bridge to more quickly respond to people trying to jump from the iconic span, according to a proposal under consideration.
The Port Authority Police Department’s top cop said Monday that the plan would be discussed Tuesday — among other options — to address safety concerns raised by union officials and officers assigned to the agency’s suicide prevention team.
“The safety of our officers is the most important thing,” said Port Authority Police Superintendent Michael Fedorko. “I want to give them all the support they need.”
The Daily News reported Sunday that members of the Port Authority Police Department’s Suicide Prevention Walkway PatrolSuicide Prevention Team saved 70 people from jumping from the George Washington Bridge last year.
Union officials said the cops who perform the daring rescues do so without safety harnesses that are available online for $40. Cops have repeatedly requested the agency pay for the harnesses, union officials told The News.
Until Monday, Port Authority officials had been silent on the issue — failing to respond to repeated requests for comment from The News.
Fedorko said he would not rule out equipping the “Suicide Squad” officers with the harnesses, but he made clear that his preference is for the tactically trained Port Authority ESU squad to already be in place if jumpers try to commit suicide.
About 75 cops are assigned to the George Washington Bridge on a given day, all of whom can respond to a report of a jumper. Of those, four suicide prevention officers are specifically assigned to patrol the walkways.
Fedorko said he only learned of the officers’ concerns after reading articles in The News about the issue.
“They never brought it to my attention,” he said. “It’s something I was not aware of until I read the articles in the paper.”
But the police officers’ union said it has repeatedly asked agency heads for harnesses so they can strap in before grabbing someone dangling off the edge of the bridge’s walkway, preparing to jump.
“The Port Authority Police Benevolent Association, through its representatives at the PAPD’s George Washington Bridge Police Command, made numerous requests for harnesses to the command’s current commanding officer and previous commanding officers,” said union spokesman Robert Egbert. “The PBA has no knowledge if those requests were properly processed within the department’s chain of command.”
Union officials say they reiterated the harness request last year after a 54-year-old man climbed to the “top of the steel,” the highest point on the New Jersey tower, about 600 feet in the air.
Both Port Authority and NYPD cops climbed to the top on Oct. 28 to talk Alberto Hernandez out of jumping.
But the NYPD’s ESU cops had harnesses. The Port Authority patrol officers didn’t have anything to prevent them from being blown right off the spire.
Union officials said many cops on the walkway patrol want to buy their own harnesses, but don’t because if they’re caught using them they would get in trouble for using unauthorized equipment.
The Port Authority’s ESU officers, like the NYPD’s elite team, are already equipped with harnesses, and are trained for such rescues. But the patrol officers are often on the scene first.
Fedorko said that needs change.
“If we do this they’re going to be at the bridge all the time,” Fedorko said, referring to the Port Authority Police Department’s ESU. “It makes sense to have a to truck there.”
Officials said if an ESU truck is permanently stationed on the bridge, it would be done in such a way to minimize the impact on traffic. Fedorko said officials still need to determine how many units would be needed, and where they would be stationed along the bridge.
A decision could be made as soon as Tuesday, he added.
The agency has already promised to speed construction of safety fencing along the milelong span. Completion of a permanent safety barrier is expected to take several years, while the cops are called on to save would-be jumpers about once every four days.