BAY RIDGE, Brooklyn (WABC) — New York City police officers who jumped into action to remove dozens of children from the streets of Brooklyn during a fatal U-Haul truck crash are speaking out.
Body camera video showed officers escorting elementary school children away from danger Monday morning.
Officers John Santini, Frank Ingebretsen and Lt. John Vitale said the runaway U-Haul that struck nine people was just a block away when they responded to Bay Ridge Prep on Ridge Boulevard.
“I told myself we have to get these kids off the street,” Santini said.
“We just got out of the car and quickly took all the children to school,” said Vital.
Ingebrethsen works in public affairs, and he knew Bay Ridge Prep was participating in the city’s Open Streets program.
“I knew it was a nice day and they would most likely be outside,” Ingebretsen said.
The parents said they were nervous when they saw the body camera video.
“It’s horrible and it’s very scary, and it just made me emotional right away,” said mother Ashley Sobal.
And while the officers’ actions are appreciated, there are some questions about the actions of some of the other officers that day.
The decision to chase this truck onto the sidewalk, endangering pedestrians, is under review.
A memo from the NYPD says:
“Department policy requires that a vehicle pursuit be terminated whenever the risk to service members and the uniformed public outweighs the danger to the public unless the suspect is immediately apprehended.”
So far, Commissioner Kichant Sewell has only said that it will all be part of the investigation.
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