Two police officers rescue trapped infant after horrific car crash: 'We got a baby under the vehicle!'



Two New York police officers are being hailed as heroes after dramatically rescuing a baby who was trapped underneath a vehicle.

What are the details?

Video surveillance captured the moment a mother and her young child were crossing a New York City street when an out-of-control driver swerved toward them and struck the two.

Video showed the woman and her child flying up onto the hood of the vehicle as it slammed into a what appeared to be barbershop storefront.

Body camera footage from the two officers — identified as Officer Rocco Fusco and Officer Paul Samoyedy, who were next door grabbing breakfast from a bagel shop — then showed the dramatic rescue.

In the video, one person can be heard shouting, "We got a baby under the vehicle!" as a child is heard crying and the woman, screaming.

Another person can be heard shouting, "Grab the baby, grab the baby!"

With the help of bystanders, the officers are able to lift the vehicle off the ground and grab the baby from underneath the vehicle.

The Yonkers Police Department says that the child and mother suffered "significant injuries" but are in stable condition.

Police Commissioner John Mueller added that the woman, who remains unnamed at the time of this reporting, suffered compound leg fractures, and the baby sustained a fractured skull.

What else?

On Sunday, NBC News reported that the mother and child were "doing extremely well."

Authorities arrested the driver, identified as 43-year-old David Poncurak, on DWI charges. He also faces charges of second-degree vehicular assault.

WNYW-TV reported that the vehicle came to a rest so far inside the building that it wasn't visible from a helicopter until crews extracted the vehicle and removed it from the premises via a flatbed truck.

Of the accident, Fusco said, "It's honestly a miracle that both of them survived — very strong mom and an even stronger little infant."

Yonkers Officers Rescue Mom and Baby www.youtube.com

Quick-thinking cop saves the life of knife-wielding suicidal man by turning up the heat at the airport



In recent times, the decisions of police officers are often questioned, especially during life-or-death scenarios where the cop may only have seconds to assess the situation and take action. A tense standoff at the Oakland International Airport was safely defused thanks to the quick-thinking and resourcefulness of a veteran police officer, who literally turned up the heat to cool down a highly flammable predicament.

At 6 a.m. Tuesday, a man was running between terminals inside the Oakland International Airport. The man then barricaded himself in a baggage carousel in Terminal 1, and threatened to kill himself with a knife. The man placed the 7-inch knife near his own neck and begged deputies to shoot him, which caused the terminal to be closed for hours and the area outside of TSA security was evacuated.

"We got a call from TSA, the man passed a note saying he needed help," said Alameda County Sheriff's Deputy Tya Modeste. "When deputies assigned to the airport responded, the man immediately pulled out a knife and put it to his throat."

Alameda County Sheriff's Sgt. Jeffery Hazelitt knew that drawing his gun might only escalate the situation that was already distressing for everyone inside the airport. Hazelitt, a 24-year-old veteran, analyzed the emergency and determined that the best course of action would be to ratchet up the heat. The suicidal man was wearing a thick jacket, so Hazelitt instructed the director of airport operations to turn off the air conditioning and crank up the heat.

Soon enough, the distraught man started to sweat. As soon as the suicidal man started to take off his jacket, Hazelitt used a Taser to subdue him, and was able to wrestle the knife from the suicidal man. The man suffered a minor injury to his neck. No other injuries were reported.

The knife-wielding man was taken to John George psychiatric hospital in San Leandro, according to the sheriff's office. The man was not arrested for the airport incident, but he did have an outstanding warrant from another county.

"Time is your best friend," Hazelitt said, adding that the standoff lasted four hours, during which a crisis team had been talking to the man and feeding him fruit. "I just saw the opportunity to get him warm and uncomfortable.

"I definitely feared for my life," Hazelitt told KTVU. "But more importantly, I feared for his life.

"I didn't want to shoot him or harm him," said Hazelitt, who is a member of the Special Response Unit. "I was looking to de-escalate the situation.

"Everybody has a story," the hero cop said. "I don't know what caused his mental health crisis at the time."

"My opportunity to give him one more day was all I was thinking about," he continued. "I wanted to give him the opportunity to see his children. He was talking about his children. So if I was able to get the knife away, get him the mental help that he needed, then that would pretty much give him extra life."

In a time of the defund the police and abolish the police movements, Hazelitt demonstrated level-headed thinking that was celebrated by his law enforcement peers.

"Sergeant Hazelitt is a trained professional," an Alameda County Sheriff's Deputy spokesperson said of the officer's brilliant unorthodox tactics to de-escalate the situation. "His actions on Tuesday were indicative of who he is as a person and a professional. He's passionate about his job, and he always puts others before himself."

"I hope he got the resources he needs," the officer said of the disturbed man.

EXCLUSIVE: Sheriff's sergeant defuses Oakland airport standoff by cranking up heat www.youtube.com