Yonkers Police Officers help a woman about to jump off a parking lot rooftop in the downtown
Another amazing job by our Emergency Service Unit, aided by First Deputy Chief Monaco and the 4th Precinct, who rescued a woman in distress.
Just before 9:30AM on Wednesday, January 31, 2024, Yonkers Police units responded to the top level of a parking garage in the confines of the 4th Precinct for a woman who was attempting to harm herself. 4th Precinct units created a secure perimeter while Emergency Service Unit Officers responded to the roof to begin rescue operations.
ESU Police Officer Sandro Vazquez initiated contact with the woman, who was clearly in distress, establishing a rapport and pleading with her to come down from the ledge. While PO Vazquez was speaking to the woman, ESU Officers Michael Mirabella, Jason Philipps, Richard Fernandez, and Brendan Moore established a rope safety system and secured it to the structure of the building in a matter of minutes. This system was secured to Officers for safety in the event that an Officer fell or had to go over the ledge to attempt the rescue.
PO Vazquez was soon joined by Deputy Chief Monaco, who leads our Crisis Negotiation Team. After about five minutes of negotiation, Officers observed the female begin to lean backward over the edge, so they rushed in to prevent her from falling and bring her to safety. The female was transported to an area hospital for evaluation and referred to the Mobile Crisis Response Team.
We share this video for two main reasons:
1- We want to highlight the amazing job our Officers do every day to help the people of this community while showing the immense amount of compassion and care they had for this woman.
2- We want everyone in our community to know that we have amazing resources here in Yonkers to help and support you through the struggles of everyday life.
Don’t choose a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Please dial 9-8-8 if you feel like you may want to harm yourself. We don’t want anyone to feel that harming themselves is the only choice they have- the Yonkers Police Department, the City of Yonkers, and our Mobile Crisis Response Team are here for you.
Life is worth living.
