Let’s be blunt: This video stressed us out. At least no one was reported hurt. Body cam footage published Wednesday by the Delray Beach Police Department (DBPD) shows officers successfully rescuing two young children and an apparently disturbed woman from the second-story ledge of a home.
It happened Saturday after 4 p.m., cops said in a statement published to Facebook. A 23-year-old woman was “acting erratically,” perched on a rain-soaked ledge 15 to 20 feet above the ground with a 1-year-old boy and 3-year-old girl, police said.
In the footage, you can see officers scramble to make sure this ends without any falls. A bystander, who remains unidentified, claims the woman was on ecstasy. Someone can be heard pleading with the woman to get the kids back inside the house.
“How do we get in the house?” an officer says.
The woman can be heard claiming that they aren’t real cops.
Police breached the front door, and made their way out onto the ledge [police blacked out the portions depicting the inside of the residence]. In the DBPD statement, Officer Rob Addea is described as standing under the window in case the woman or the children fell. He was pleading with the 23-year-old to get back inside. Officer Matt Warne joined him in doing this, police said. Sgt. Mike Debree and Sgt. Brian Griffith were the ones who made it up to the ledge.
Debree grabbed the children’s arms in case they fell, police said. As seen on video, the 23-year-old questioned whether they were real cops, and demanded to see a badge. Griffith complies, but the woman apparently didn’t believe them. Debree began leading the children off the ledge.
“No, he’s going to kill me, mom,” the 23-year-old cries out. Even so, the police are succesfull. Debree walks the kids to an open window and hands them to an unidentified female officer standing inside. The video cuts off as the woman remains on the ledge.
In their statement, the DBPD said she was soon brought back inside the home, and was committed to a mental health facility under the Florida state Baker Act. The woman face criminal charges upon release, police said. The state Department of Children and Families have taken custody of the kids, and are running an investigation, cops said.
In the video, police blurred out the faces of the woman, the children, and the bystanders. The 23-year-old was not identified. She could not be reached for comment by Law&Crime as of press time.
[Screengrab via Delray Beach Police Department]
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