Overview
- The NYPD released body‑worn camera footage showing a Harbor Unit officer jump into Newtown Creek to rescue a 17‑year‑old who could not swim after the teen was found clinging to a wooden piling.
- The officer swam the teen to the department boat with a life raft, other officers hoisted her aboard, she received oxygen from the Emergency Service Unit, and she was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition while the rescuer was treated for an arm laceration.
- Pilings in the creek prevented the boat from approaching close enough for a standard pickup, which led the officer to enter the murky water and perform an improvised swimmer rescue.
- Newtown Creek is a heavily polluted estuary with signs warning against swimming and an estimated more than a billion gallons of untreated sewage flowing into it each year, creating added health risks for both victims and rescuers.
- The public release follows other recent NYPD bodycam disclosures of life‑safety interventions and may intensify scrutiny of how officers respond to water emergencies in contaminated urban waterways.