Just after 4 p.m. this gem came across the newswire: an Emergency Service Unit was on its way to 191 Chrystie Street, where nearby a police car, sans officer inside, was left in drive with the keys locked in the vehicle. We're doing our own aerial surveillance to find the nearest donut shop, and we'll update when we hear more on this amazing situation. more ›

Yesterday, there was a report of a water rescue at 11th Avenue and 16th Street in Manhattan, and it turns out that the NYPD's Emergency Service Unit needed to fish out a man who apparently jumped into the freezing Hudson River after dropping his coat in the water! The Daily News has a photograph of the man, Eddie Morales, who appears dazed as cops put a towel on him. more ›

Cats do the darndest things—like hang out in SUV engines and wait for cops to rescue 'em. Seriously, an orange and white cat had be to extracted by Emergency Service Unit detectives when a SUV driver discovered the feline in the vehicle's front hood. more ›

Hundreds of officers from the NYPD and elsewhere came out to pay their respects to Lieutenant Michael Pigott yesterday at the first day of his wake in Islip. Pigott died Thursday of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, a week after being embroiled in a media frenzy following the Taser-induced death of an emotionally disturbed man. Friends and family paid tribute to Pigott yesterday with one lifelong friend telling Newsday, "He was a gentle-hearted person, big heart, generous, friendly, sweet. Everyone loved him." There were also definite feelings of bitterness in the air due to the circumstances surrounding Pigott's death. Some colleagues were upset at Commissioner Ray Kelly's denial of an antique truck from Piggott's unit to be used during his funeral. And one guest lashed out at reporters saying, “You people are half of what caused this, O.K.? The media and the pressure you put on this man that did nothing wrong, you are responsible.” more ›

The wake for NYPD Lieutenant Michael Pigott, who killed himself on Thursday, is being held in Islip, Long Island today and tomorrow, with funeral service on Monday. Pigott shot himself in the head at Emergency Service Unit headquarters, apparently racked with guilt and worry after his command led to the fatal Tasering of emotionally disturbed man, Iman Morales, in Brooklyn on September 24. more ›

After an emotionally disturbed man fell to his death after being Tasered by the police, the NYPD's entire Emergency Service Unit will "undergo retraining" on using the stun gun. The NYPD admitted the fatal incident seemed to violate department rules, since the police didn't try to break the fall of Inman Morales who was on a building ledge (ESU did call for an airbag, but it hadn't arrived yet). A new commanding officer--Deputy Chief James Molloy--is taking over ESU (a deputy inspector had been the acting head). Additionally, the NYPD may create a database so they'll know if they've responded to a previous incident with an emotional disturbed person at that address; each day, the police respond to almost 200 EDP calls. more ›

A distraught 34-year-old woman threw herself from the Brooklyn Bridge yesterday, plunging 100 feet from the pedestrian walkway near the Manhattan shoreline into the East River. An NYPD Harbor Unit quickly responded to the scene and pulled the suicidal woman from the water. Somehow she was relatively unscathed--without a scratch or a broken bone--and was treated at a hospital for aspirating some water, which is common in near drowning incidents. more ›