{"id":296707,"date":"2026-07-15T16:09:59","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T16:09:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/296707\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T16:09:59","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T16:09:59","slug":"nypd-officer-who-saved-brooklyn-bridge-jumper-recounts-dramatic-rescue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/296707\/","title":{"rendered":"NYPD Officer Who Saved Brooklyn Bridge Jumper Recounts Dramatic Rescue"},"content":{"rendered":"

A gutsy cop who, during a harrowing high-wire act,\u00a0talked a woman out of jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge<\/a> was only a week removed from the NYPD Emergency Service Unit training school when he made the daring save.<\/p>\n

Dramatic body camera video captured the breathtaking moment ESU Officer Christian Yepes scaled a narrow bridge cable high<\/a> above the East River last week for a calm conversation that kept the would-be jumper alive.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just tried to establish that rapport, make sure she\u2019s OK, try to figure out what\u2019s going on up there and what\u2019s going through her head,\u201d Yepes said Tuesday.\u00a0 \u201cJust try to see if I can help her in any way. I was telling her that she mattered, that I cared, that I genuinely cared.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yepes and his partner, 13-year ESU veteran Det. Eric Miller, were responding to a report of a potential jumper on the iconic bridge as the sun began to set in the sky July 8.<\/p>\n

Yepes said his still-fresh training kicked in and that he didn\u2019t give the elevation, the wind or the water a second thought once he secured his tether to the bridge.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce I clip in, I know I\u2019m secure, and everything else is just me and her,\u201d Yepes said.<\/p>\n

Yepes looked as calm as a pedestrian walking his dog in the park as he approached the woman sitting side-saddle on the arching cable as shocked pedestrians, motorists and tourists looked on from below.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy name is Chris. What\u2019s your name?\u201d Yepes said by way of introduction, as he slowly made his way to the troubled woman.<\/p>\n

Behind, below and above him in a helicopter, other officers stood at the ready, keeping cars and crowds at bay.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s happening today?\u201d Yepes told her. \u201cI just want to talk. I want to help you. That\u2019s why I\u2019m up here right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

It took about an hour, and the sun was nearly out of the sky, when officers were finally able to surround \u00a0the woman and secure her before guiding \u00a0her off the bridge. But Yepes said he was not about to rush it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to make sure that she felt comfortable, that she understands that she can trust us, that I\u2019m not just there because it\u2019s my job,\u201d Yepes said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m there because I do want to help and it\u2019s the same with everyone else who was up there. It\u2019s not just me. From the guys up in the air, the helicopter, the Technical Assistance Response Unit, harbor patrol, the guys behind me on the bridge making sure everybody\u2019s safe. I wanted to make sure she understands that everyone\u2019s there to help her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Praise quickly poured in from every corner of the city, from his high-flying partner to a proud police commissioner.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe care, courage, and compassion these officers showed was just extraordinary,\u201d NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said on social media.<\/a><\/p>\n

Miller, Yepes\u2019 partner, had a perfect view \u2014 of the city and the daring rescue.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe did a phenomenal job,\u201d Miller said Tuesday of his partner. \u201cI didn\u2019t have to do much. I didn\u2019t realize he had that little time in ESU, but he stepped up to the plate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yepes said he hopes the rescue helps people see the police in a more positive light.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody thinks that since we\u2019re the police, we don\u2019t care and it\u2019s just our job,\u201d Yepes saId. \u201cBut it\u2019s not. We genuinely care and we care for people\u2019s safety. Whether you\u2019re up on a bridge or just walking on the sidewalk, we do care.\u201d<\/p>\n

_____________<\/p>\n

\u00a92026 New York Daily News.<\/p>\n

Visit\u00a0nydailynews.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Distributed by\u00a0Tribune Content Agency, LLC.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A gutsy cop who, during a harrowing high-wire act,\u00a0talked a woman out of jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":296708,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,99,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-296707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=296707"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296707\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/296708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=296707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=296707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=296707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}