The First Precinct Community Council

Rescue on Rector: Emotionally Distraught Man Saved by Police

From The Broadsheet Daily:

On Friday afternoon, as much of the nation was gripped with heartbreak and shock at the story of a madman and the horror he perpetrated in a Connecticut town, a smaller — but in some ways similar — drama reached a less gruesome conclusion in Battery Park City. Shortly before 1:00 pm, an emotionally disturbed man climbed onto the metal roof of the Rector Place pedestrian bridge, began waving a knife, and shouting to passersby that he was going to jump into the traffic passing beneath him on West Street.

Several police cars from the New York Police Department’s First Precinct responded within minutes to multiple 911 calls. They immediately cordoned off both ends of the bridge and began to stop the six lanes of traffic speeding beneath the bridge. These officers also called for additional, specialized help: crews from the NYPD’s Emergency Services Unit (ESU) and ambulances from the Fire Department. In the several minutes that it took these reinforcements to arrive, the man (whose name has not been released) became increasingly agitated, approached the edge of the bridge several times, and began to stab at his wrists and throat with the knife he was brandishing.

Read the full article online.