NYPD officers describe unique rescue of trapped American bald eagle from icy Hudson River
SUNSET PARK, Brooklyn (WABC) -- The NYPD officers who helped rescue a stranded and injured American bald eagle are speaking out about the unique rescue.
Harbor unit officers say they were out surveying the ice on the Hudson River Tuesday when they saw the eagle trapped on ice and bleeding from its wing.
They body cameras captured the squeals of the injured bird stranded on floating ice and the unusual rescue that followed.
"It's an impressive creature, even in its state we were taken back by how big it is and the beauty of it," said Officer Nicholas Martin with the NYPD Harbor Unit.
Four NYPD Harbor Unit officers were aboard a boat Tuesday morning to conduct a training exercise when Office Mike Russo spotted the majestic bird.
"He said why don't we turn around and make sure it's an actual bald eagle, we didn't think we would actually get close to it," Martin said.
But they did. And as their body camera footage shows, the eagle barely even moved. They said it looked cold and wet and was screeching loudly.
"As we got closer, we thought it would take off, it never took off," Russo said.
That's when the officers noticed the bird's wing was bleeding.
"It looked like it was in distress, one of the claws was bloody, it had blood on its face, it looked very disheveled so we figured we had to do something," said NYPD Harbor Unit Sgt. Mike Amello.
Martin said they decided to come up with a plan to see if they could rescue it. So they reached out to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for permission to try to save it.
"It's very rare that you rescue a bald eagle," said Russo said.
With the green light a little bit of quick research, the four officers jumped into action.
"It was impressive and scary at the same time being that close to a bald eagle," Amello said.
Officer Patrick Memi carefully drove the boat.
"You want to approach gently because it could've caused a lot of water displacement because you don't want to knock the bird off the ice that it was on," Memi said.
Russo used a catch pole to subdue the bird.
"It didn't put up much of a fight, it was compliant," Amello said.
"l think it kind of knew we were trying to help it," Russo said.
Amello brought the bird on board.
"They don't really train you for handling a bald eagle but we made it work," he said.
As they tried to put it in a crate, they witnessed up close just how big the bald eagle is.
"It flapped its wing at one point and it reached all the way to that pole," Amello said.
Once safely secured, New York's Finest called DEC.
"It's an American bald eagle, it's a day or two after Presidents Day, it made me feel patriotic so I just want him to get well, get better," Memi said.
Russo said he has never seen an American bald eagle on these waters in the 16 years he has been working there.
The bird was taken to a sanctuary in New Jersey for treatment where it is said to be in "very serious condition."
Officials at the sanctuary said they are doing their best "in the hopes that we can stabilize the patient for further treatment."
* Get Eyewitness News Delivered
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News
Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply.
