By Police1 Staff
DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — Recently released body cam footage shows Florida officers rescuing a woman and her two toddlers perched on a narrow ledge of an apartment building.
On Saturday, Delray police were called about a woman and her two children, who were half-naked, on a one-foot ledge as rain trickled down, the Palm Beach Post reported. Police said the woman was emotionally disturbed and unpredictable.
“I could tell right away she wasn’t in touch with reality,” said Officer Rob Addea, the first officer at the scene of the incident.
Addea and Sergeants Brian Griffith and Mike Debree worked to get the toddlers to safety knowing the children could fall about 15 to 20 feet. Debree shuffled across the ledge while dangerously close to the edge, which was wet from the rain.
https://www.facebook.com/DelrayBeachPolice/videos/1954586311240082/
Debree managed to grab the two children while their mother clung to them and refused to let go. The sergeant was able to usher them to the nearest window while Griffith restrained the mother while still sitting on the ledge.
Griffith eventually pulled the mother to safety even as she resisted. Police said no one was hurt during the incident.
Police said it isn’t clear what led up to the moment the 23-year-old mother took her 1-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter onto the ledge. The mother was forcibly committed to a mental health hospital while her children are in the care of the state’s Department of Children and Families.
The mother told officers that she took a “molly,” a pure powder form of ecstasy, and was hallucinating. No charges were filed against her, but the case is still open, police said.
According to the police report, it was “miraculous” that the children managed to leave unharmed.