Video: NYPD Officer Jumps Into Murky Creek to Save Woman

Body camera footage shows an NYPD Harbor Unit officer jumping into Newtown Creek in Queens and swimming to a woman clinging to a wooden piling before bringing her safely to a police boat.
Source Officer.com News
July 13, 2026
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  • An NYPD Harbor Unit officer jumped into Newtown Creek in Queens to rescue a woman who was clinging to a wooden piling and unable to swim.
  • Officers responding by boat could not get close because of the pilings, so they threw the woman a life preserver before an officer entered the water and swam to her, body camera footage shows.
  • The woman was brought safely aboard and taken to a hospital, while video also shows medics treating an apparent arm laceration suffered by the rescuing officer.
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NYPD officer jumps in Newtown Creek to save woman clutching piling

An NYPD Harbor Unit rescue Friday caught on body camera shows an officer diving into a murky Queens creek to save a woman hanging onto a piling.

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An NYPD officer dove into a murky creek in Queens to save a woman hanging on to a wooden piling in the water last week.

The rescue happened at about 4:45 p.m. Friday when the NYPD Harbor Unit received a report of a woman clinging to a piling in Newtown Creek, the department stated in a social media post and body camera footage of the incident. When officers in a watercraft reached the woman's location, they found she couldn't swim, but they couldn't get closer because of the pilings in the water.

Police threw a life preserver to the woman, and an officer jumped in the water to swim to her. Body camera footage shows the officer reaching the woman and pulling her toward the boat as she clung to the life preserver.

"Without hesitation, one of our officers jumped into the murky water to save her," the department stated.

The woman was brought safely aboard and taken to shore. She was taken by medics, who took her to the hospital.

In the footage released by the NYPD, medics are seen treating and bandaging an apparent arm laceration on the officer who jumped in the water.

About the Author

Joe Vince
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Joe Vince

Joining Endeavor Business Media in 2018, Joe has worked on the company's city services publications. He began working at OFFICER.com as the assistant editor. Before starting at Endeavor, Joe had worked for a variety of print and online news outlets, including the Indianapolis Star, the South Bend Tribune, Reddit and Patch.com.
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