United States - February 23, 2025 PROSPECT HEIGHTS, Brooklyn — Two NYPD officers are being hailed as heroes after a dramatic rescue unfolded in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, where they saved a man who plunged through a frozen lake’s fragile surface on Sunday night. The city was barely emerging from days of bitter cold, but the chill couldn’t stop Officers Cristian Ferrante and Luilly Baez from leaping into action. The ordeal began when the unidentified man found himself stranded in the middle of the lake and dialed 911 in desperation. Ferrante and Baez, partners for just a few months in the 78th precinct, arrived at the scene with no time to spare. “As soon as we got out of the car, that was when the ice cracked beneath him, and he fell in,” Ferrante recalled. The man’s screams pierced the night as he floundered in the freezing water. “You take this job to put other people before you,” Ferrante said, summing up the instinct that drove them forward. With seconds ticking away, Baez added, “Now he’s screaming, and now we have to get him out of the ice.” The officers didn’t hesitate. After putting out a radio call for backup and requesting all units, they grabbed a rescue ladder from the Parks Department and took matters into their own hands. Ferrante described the tense rescue: “Got out on my stomach, extended the ladder to him, my partner had my leg, and we were able to get him off the ice and into the ambulance.” Baez held firm, anchoring his partner as they pulled the man to safety. Their swift teamwork turned a potential tragedy into a triumph, with mere moments separating life from death. The officers, who patrol a sector including Prospect Park, credited their quick thinking for the save. “They were having a rough time, and I was there for him,” Ferrante said, reflecting on the man’s struggle. Baez, still buzzing from the adrenaline, called it “an amazing day,” adding, “Could have gone worse, but this is an amazing day.”