City Hall honors hero NYPD officers for lifesaving work
NEW YORK - Several NYPD officers and detectives were honored at a special ceremony at City Hall on Monday for their bravery and split-second decisions that saved the lives of three men in separate incidents last month.
"Far too often these heroic actions are often played out just on your video camera and I say no to that. New Yorkers need to see what you are faced with every day," said Mayor Adams.
In one dramatic video, police from the 60th Precinct responded to a 911 call about a man with a gun.
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The officer's body camera shows the suspect, a 34-year-old man sitting inside a car with a firearm displayed. An intense struggle between police and the suspect began as officers tried to get the suspect to release the gun.
"Officers began to disarm this man and take him into custody when the firearm discharged," said Deputy Mayor Philip Banks.
The Mayor says the officers exercised restraint in order to save the suspect's life.
"They put their bodies in front of a gun, clearly in the right to use deadly physical force if it was needed, but they took proper strategic action and were able to de-escalate the situation and apprehend the suspect without any loss of life," Adams said.
In a second incident, on October 5, officers from the 26th Precinct helped save a man who wanted to jump from the Riverside Drive overpass. The man survived thanks to an officer's personal appeal and compassion.
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In the third incident on October 27, officers rescued a man in severe distress on the Williamsburg Bridge.
"When the call came, they answered it. They didn't hesitate, they acted. Working together they relied on their instincts and their training to make the right decisions in the moment and that made all the difference," said NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban.
Mayor Adams says that the officers honored on Monday, like all the members of the NYPD, start every day not knowing where it will take them, and that they never hesitate to help a New Yorker in need.