Two hero cops working in two of the NYPD’s most dangerous and harrowing units were promoted on Tuesday.
Hundreds filled the auditorium inside Police Headquarters on Nov. 25. Among them was Brian Kearney, who waited for his name to be called to climb on stage with Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch and his promotion to be complete. Kearney, who works out of the Harbor Unit, was made a detective.
He first made the news in September of 2016 when he rescued a distressed man who leapt into the East River from the RFK Bridge.
“That day, we got a call for a man hanging off the bridge. We weren’t too far away, but he was obviously thinking about jumping off the bridge and committing suicide. We got there rapidly. When we got there, we noticed he was on the outside of the railing,” Kearney recalled to amNewYork. “He let go and kind of did a backflip, somersault into the water, and landed on his side. We quickly got over to him, threw him a life ring, secured the life ring, and grabbed it with his arm.”
Kearney has been on the job for 23 years and says that, although he often deals with people and even boats in distress, he feels grateful that he is able to make a difference in the lives of New Yorkers.
“It means a lot, it means a lot to my family,” the newly minted detective said.
Detective Matthew Schmucker of the Emergency Service Unit (ESU) was also promoted to detective 2nd Grade. Schmucker is a Medal of Valor recipient for his heroic actions during a 2019 police standoff with a gunman in Brooklyn.
Officers were engaged in a gunfight with 29-year-old Brandon Clayton when Schmucker rushed into the line of fire in order to get a sergeant from the 73rd Precinct to safety.
“I got the medal for helping another police officer who was involved in a terrible situation,” Schmucker said. “Unfortunately, he was in a shooting, and we went, and we helped him and got him to safety. That’s our job, and with the training we received, we were able to do that.”
Schmucker comes from a law enforcement family, with his great-grandfather first joining the force in the early 1900s, and his younger brother following in his footsteps to become a cop. As a member of ESU, Schmucker faces some of the most dangerous situations the city has to offer, something he says he is prepared for.
“We don’t know what we’re going to get. That’s kind of the point, you come into work, and you just know you’re going to take your training with you out there, and you’re going to try to help the guys on the street do their job,” Schmucker said.
