Cop honored for rescue of girl hostage

Published: April 1, 2008 | 6976th good news item since 2003

Police brass recently honored an Emergency Services detective who saved the life of a 3-year-old girl in Queens in February.

Detective Michael Cook talked to an emotionally disturbed man who held his daughter hostage for more than seven hours after barricading himself in his Queensbridge apartment.

Cook, a 12-year department veteran, gradually earned the trust of the father and secured the release of the child.

“NYPD Emergency Service officers respond to tens of thousands of cases involving emotionally disturbed individuals every year,” Commissioner Ray Kelly said in a statement.

“The fact that the vast majority of them are resolved without injury to the distraught person is due to the exceptional police work exemplified by Detective Cook in this situation,” Kelly said.

“He and his colleagues are to be commended for a job well-done, which often goes unrecognized.”

The certificate presented to Detective Cook reads:

“On February 22, 2008, Detective Michael Cook, assigned to ESU No. 8, was part of a team that responded to a barricaded, emotionally disturbed male holding a three-year-old girl.

“For seven hours Detective Cook continued talking and eventually won the trust of the barricaded male. After talking with the E.D.P., and continuing to gain his trust, the E.D.P. finally surrendered. Detective Cook’s ‘never give up’ attitude was in keeping with the finest traditions of the Emergency Service Unit.”

Published in Cops
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