Police officers in Cambridge, Massachusetts, pulled off a quick rescue that was caught on their body cameras.
While patrolling Central Square, the officers rushed onto the tracks at the Central MBTA station after a man fell down there. The whole thing happened with less than a minute to spare, according to police.
On Dec. 27, two Cambridge cops hurried down the stairs to the Red Line platform after someone nearby told them a person had fallen onto the tracks. Their body cameras were recording everything.
“The nearest train is in one minute,” you can hear someone say in the video.
Officers Miguel Mijares-Munoz and Deric Maddaleni jumped into the track area.
“Go,” Maddaleni says to his partner on the recording. “Let me grab him,” one officer adds.
“This individual somehow lost their balance, was too close to the edge, fell in,” Sgt. Bob Reardon of Cambridge Police explained. “They got hurt. It’s quite a drop from the platform down to where the rails are.”
Reardon said when they got down there, only a minute remained before the next train arrived.
“The third rail power was still on, and they weren’t sure if they could warn that train in time to stop it before something terrible happened,” Reardon said. “Luckily, they managed to lift him back onto the platform and get out of harm’s way before any train showed up.”
The officers were praised for their quick thinking during roll call. The department also pointed out how important body cameras are for this kind of work.
“There’s lots of good stuff happening out there,” Reardon said. “Sometimes they have to risk their own safety like here – especially with an active third rail and an incoming train.”
The man who fell suffered minor injuries but is expected to be fine.
