W’burg Bridge rescue
ESU cops talk down jumper
Three NYPD officers put their lives on the line Sunday to save a man threatening to jump from the Williamsburg Bridge Sunday.
Detective Christopher Williams — who also rescued a protester from the Statue of Liberty on July Fourth — and two other Emergency Service Unit officers clung to cable wires as they scaled a beam, where the distraught man was perched at around 9:15 a.m., according to police. The ESU Truck One officers then placed the man in a harness to lower him to safety, officials said.
Williams, along with Detective Thomas Longa and Officer Dan Dongvort, managed to talk down the shirtless man, who climbed roughly 30 feet from the Manhattan-side of the span before he was blocked by a locked gate, police said.
“I had to climb up approximately halfway up the bridge [cable], up to the anchorage,” Longa said. “He was stopped by what we call a suicide gate, which are gates that are constructed specifically to prevent people from climbing over it to the top of the bridge.”
From there, Longa tried to “establish a rapport” with the climber, he Longa said at a press conference.
“I mentioned that nothing that’s going on in his life is worth ending it for,” Longa said. “Once we got him a little lower, and he was able to recognize that he was going to get some help, he was very thankful.”
The officers took the man into custody at around 10:30 a.m. He was transported to Bellevue Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.
“We saved a life today,” said Williams. “I feel I did a good job, we saved somebody and we’re all here and we’re all safe.”
Just a few months ago, Williams was part of an ESU team that rescued a woman who climbed the base of the Statue of Liberty on the Fourth of July to protest President Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy. He has rescued several people from structures over his 16year ESU career.
“Every day, #NYPD cops perform amazing acts of bravery and heroism, all in the name of keeping NYers safe,” Police Commissioner James O’Neill tweeted. “Outstanding work. Stay safe.” Additional reporting by Natalie O’Neill