Transcript: Mayor Adams Honors NYPD Officers Who Saved New Yorkers' Lives

November 20, 2023

Deputy Mayor Philip Banks III, Public Safety: Good morning. Good morning, everyone. So, I'm joined today by the mayor of the City of New York, Eric Adams, also the police commissioner of the City of New York, Edward Caban, the chief of Patrol, John Chell, and assistant commissioner at NYPD, Kaz Daughtry.

We are here today to recognize a group of extraordinary individuals who exemplify the courage and compassion of the NYPD. Last month, we witnessed several remarkable displays of selflessness from our NYPD offices.

It's easy to let actions like this pass without any fanfare because saving lives is in a job description. That's what they do. But that doesn't make it any less amazing and certainly does not diminish the impact that they had on the people who are alive today because of them.

Their actions were not driven by a sense of duty alone, but about their empathy and care for their neighbors. Today we come together to express our gratitude and admiration and to say thank you. With that, I'd like to introduce the mayor of the City of New York, Mayor Eric Adams.

Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you so much, deputy mayor. And we have Senator Felder. Senator, why don't you join us, and Assemblywoman Rajkumar, why don't you both come up?

And I want to really thank… As they're coming up, I want to thank the police commissioner and, really, the men and women of the New York City Police Department. We made it clear, both the commissioner and I, that we are not going to silently allow the narratives of others to define the work that our public servants are doing in general, but specifically the men and women who place themselves on the front line and respond to the jobs.

Throughout the night, I receive communications from the police commissioner, from Chief Chell, Chief Maddrey, Assistant Commissioner Daughtry, of just videos of your bodycams, of your videos, of your actions. And far too often, these heroic actions are often played out just on your video cam.

And I say no to that. New Yorkers need to see what you are faced with everyday. And I don't want your actions to be defined by those who know how to tweet, I want it to be defined by those who are walking the streets, who see what you're doing, placing your lives on the line every day.

And when I'm looking at some of the videos that's come from it, I ams blown away by how in spite of all the noise, in spite of all the naysayers, that you are getting up every day, putting on that uniform, placing that shell on your chest, put on that bulletproof vest and going out there and doing the job.

And let me tell you something, New Yorkers know it, and New Yorkers love you. New Yorkers appreciate what you're doing. And sometimes we can listen to the loudest and don't know that the overwhelming number of New Yorkers want to say thank you.

And this is our way of saying thank you. I said this from the beginning of my administration. The prerequisite to prosperity is public safety and you carry that out every day with your actions.

And it's showing. Crime is down. Five of the seven major crime categories are down, homicides are down, shootings are down. We are going into the new year where tourism is up, jobs are up.

People are excited about being back in our city again because of the actions that we are going to demonstrate today and show New Yorkers, but the actions that you do every day.

We could mend the bravery of a group of NYPD officers who have stepped in and saved the lives of their fellow New Yorkers. You're just representative of the countless number of people who do the job every day.

These are three separate incidents that happened last month that showed us what courage heroic, actions are, and togetherness, operating together as a unit is so important.

In the first incident, four police officers from the 26th Precinct assisted a man in need on the Riverside Drive overpass, talking to him until emergency service arrived, and we were able to save his life in the process.

During the second incident, emergency service officers from the 90th Precinct helped a man in distress on the Williamsburg Bridge. In both these cases, our officers saved a man's life.

When a member of the community was in need of help, NYPD responded, 24 hours, seven days a week, never turning back from responding to a call of service.

And finally, four police officers from the 60th Precinct put their lives literally on the line, responding to a 911 call of a male with a firearm on Neptune Avenue and West 20th Street.

You will see in the video that we're going to display that they put their bodies in front of a gun, clearly in the right to use deadly physical force, if it was needed, but they took proper strategic action and they were able to deescalate the situation, apprehending the suspect without any loss of life.

Listen, when you look at these cases, it just runs the gamut of what is done. Every day you start your day, one of the few professions where you just don't know what you're going to be faced with and your training has to kick in automatically and you have to be prepared to get the job done. And that is what these three incidents are really going to portray.

So, really want to say congratulations. I want to say thank you for the job that you have performed for a job well done, and I appreciate it every day. And I'm proud not only to have been a member of the New York City Police Department, but to be in a department in the greatest city in the world. And this is the greatest city in the world. This has to be the greatest police department in the world.

And with that, we would turn it over to the greatest police commissioner in the world. And that's Police Commissioner Eddie Caban.

Police Commissioner Edward Caban: Thank you for those kind words. So, good morning, everyone, and thank you, Mayor Adams, for your unwavering support. So, I'm proud to be here as you recognize the outstanding work of some of your NYPD officers.

There is no such thing as a routine day on this job. From your first tour on patrol, you learn to expect the unexpected. One minute you could be disarming a person with a gun, the next minute you're talking to someone in crisis down off a bridge.

So, when that call comes over the radio, you have to be ready for anything. And there are no second chances. It takes courage, conviction and compassion.

And the officers we're honoring today are perfect proof of that. When their call came, they answered it. They didn't hesitate. They acted. Working together, they relied on their instincts and their training to make the right decisions in the moment. And that made all the difference.

Not anyone can be calm under pressure. Not everyone could rise to the occasion, and that's why not just anyone can be a New York City cop.

The officers and detectives here today showed us all yet again how special is to wear the uniform. And New Yorkers are so fortunate to have them on their side. It might be the bad news that makes the headlines, but it's the every day great work of the NYPD that keeps our city running.

So, to these remarkable officers and to the dedicated colleagues across the NYPD, thank you for all the ways you serve the people of New York City.

I know you don't do this job to get a pat on the back, but today you're getting one anyway, and you definitely deserve it. Congratulations again on this honor.

We're proud to tell your stories to the world and we're grateful to count you amongst New York's finest. Stay safe and God bless.

Deputy Mayor Banks: So first, we will see bodycam footage from October 5th when Detective Eiel and Officers Einhorn, Mata and Fayette from the 26th Precinct helped save the life of a man in need of assistance on the Riverside Drive overpass.

The responding officers attempted to engage the man in conversation, and though he didn't respond to them, they kept him engaged and continued talking to him in an attempt to save him. Ultimately, personnel from emergency service units responded and were able to safely remove the man and bring him to an area hospital stable condition. That man is alive today because of the actions of these particular officers. And we will see this video.

[Video from incident number one plays.]

The mayor's now going to present a proclamation, and can we have Detective Stewart Eiel respond up? Thank you, detective. Next, Police Officer Adam Einhorn, join us. Next, can we have Police Officer Eleodoro Mata come up? Thank you. Police Officer Carl Fayette.

Thank you. Next, we will see video from October 27th when emergency service officers from the 90th Precinct helped a man in distress on the Williamsburg Bridge.

Upon arrival at the scene, officers observed a 30-year-old male transversing the beams of the bridge. With assistance from ESU, TARU, and the hostage negotiation team, the man was brought to safety and transported to New York City health and hospitals in stable condition.

[Video from incident number two plays.]

So, now, representing ESU Truck Number 1, Detective Greg Welch. Now, representing ESU Truck 3, Detective Jose Otero. Representing ESU Truck 8, Detective Andre Gonzalez.

And finally, we will see a video that was also taken on October 27th when officers responded to a 911 call of a male with a firearm at Neptune Avenue in West 20th Street within the confines of the 60th Precinct.

Upon arrival, officers observed a 34-year-old male sitting inside of a vehicle with a firearm displayed. Officers began attempting to disarm this male, taking him into custody when the firearm discharged. The individual was disarmed and taken into custody by Officer Li, Officer Scotko, Officer Thomas and Officer Moran. 

[Video from incident number three plays.]

Just to note that that person who was disarmed, he actually shot a female at an early and earlier point, and it just goes on to the bravery of the men and women of this department. So, we want to say thank you.

So now, we want to call up Police Officer Jian Tong Li. Thank you. Police Officer Kate Scotko. Thank you. Please, officer, I hope I'm pronouncing your first name correct. Anoop Thomas. Am I pronouncing it correct? Okay. Please come up and thank you. I am pretty sure I can't pronounce this one. PO Michael Moran. 

Now, next, if we can get all of the officers to come up and we're going to take a group photo, all the officers come and take a group photo with the mayor, police commissioner, and our elected officials.