Four members of the NYPD Harbor Unit were out on the Hudson River patrolling and conducting a training exercise when they discovered a hurt bald eagle floating on ice on the river and making distressing noises. NYPD Sgt. Michael Amello and Detective Nicholas Martin join FOX Weather to talk about the rescue they were part of.
NEW YORK CITY – An injured bald eagle was rescued from a piece of ice during a patrol of the Hudson River on Tuesday.
Four officers with the New York Police Department’s Harbor Unit were out patrolling the river Tuesday morning when they saw the eagle on the icy river.
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Video showed officers Michael Russo and Patrick Memi along with Sargeant Michael Amello and Detective Nicholas Martin in their boat pulling up to the eagle on the river.
A NYPD crew patrolling the Hudson River on Tuesday morning spotted an injured bald eagle floating on a piece of ice down the river. Officers quickly jumped into action to save the bird and brought it to safety.
The bird was screeching in distress as the officers used a pole to keep the ice chunk near their boat and worked to catch the animal.
“His claw’s bleeding, too,” one of the officers said as they grabbed a catch pole and carefully put it over the bird’s body.
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Together, they used a yellow blanket and put it over the bird so it remained calm while they grabbed it.
The officers used a blanket to pull the eagle onto their boat.
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“Alright buddy,” one of the officers said. “We got ya.”
The bird, still screeching, allowed the officers to catch it and bring it into their NYPD boat.
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The next clip shows the large bird covered in another blanket, being carried to the upper level of the boat deck.
They carried the bird up to the top deck and held onto it until they got to shore.
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They held onto the bird until they got to shore and could put the bird in a hard animal carrier and get it to safety.
“They don’t really train us for this type of thing, handling bald eagles,” Martin said as he and Amello joined FOX Weather to talk about the bird rescue. “It was a team effort.”
The injured eagle in its carrier after being saved.
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The eagle is recovering from its injuries at a bird sanctuary, officials said.
