Body camera video from the NYPD Harbor Unit shows a cop diving into the murky waters of Newtown Creek on Friday after a 911 call reported someone in trouble. In the footage, the officer swims out with a life raft, reaches a person clinging to a wooden piling and hauls them back toward the patrol boat, where EMS later treats both the officer and the rescued teen on board.
The NYPD released the video on Sunday. It shows officers shouting to the person in the water, trying to toss an inflatable jacket over a barrier of wooden pilings, then getting blocked when it will not reach. One officer is heard saying, "I'm going to go in," before jumping into the creek to close the gap himself. The Harbor Unit's patrol boat could not pull in any closer because of the pilings, and other officers helped lift the person on board so EMS could provide care, according to NBC New York.
How the rescue unfolded
Police were called around 4:45 p.m. Friday after reports that someone had fallen into the estuary between Brooklyn and Queens. When the NYPD's Harbor Unit arrived, they found a 17-year-old girl clinging to a piling in Newtown Creek, according to CBS New York. Bodycam footage shows officers first trying to throw a flotation device toward her before one officer swims out, reaches the teen and helps bring her back to the patrol boat, where she is pulled to safety.
Why Newtown Creek Is Hazardous
The incident underscores how dangerous Newtown Creek can be, even for strong swimmers. The creek is a heavily polluted industrial waterway that environmental advocates say receives more than 1.2 billion gallons of combined sewage overflow every year, according to the Newtown Creek Alliance. It is part of a long-running federal Superfund cleanup effort and is scheduled for multi-billion-dollar infrastructure projects aimed at capturing and treating stormwater and sewage before they hit the water, Inside Climate News reported.
The NYPD has not released the teen's name or explained how she ended up in the water. That detail is still missing from both the department's account and local reporting, according to NBC New York. Neighbors and environmental advocates have pointed to the video as a stark reminder that Newtown Creek is no place for anyone to be without professional rescue teams ready to respond.
"Without hesitation, one of our officers jumped into the murky water to save her," the NYPD wrote when it posted the bodycam clip, a line that has been repeated in local coverage of the rescue, CBS New York noted. The footage offers a rare close-up look at maritime rescues in New York City and at the kind of toxic, debris-filled waters first responders sometimes have to dive into to pull someone out alive.
