Baltimore Police dive into water to rescue woman near Harbor Hospital

BALTIMORE -- Baltimore Police officers stripped off their gear and dove into the water near Harbor Hospital in South Baltimore to save a distressed woman on Wednesday, according to the local police union.

The woman was "experiencing a behavioral emergency" at Middle Branch Park, Baltimore Police Department spokesman Vernon Davis told WJZ.

"When officers arrived, they observed a woman jumping into the water, at which point they were able to rescue her and transported her to a nearby hospital for further evaluation," Davis said.

The officers "dove into the unpredictable waters of that area" to find the woman after she "went under the water and out of sight of the officers," according to union officials.

They were able to rescue her and return her to land, union officials said.

Baltimore City Fire Department personnel took her to a local hospital, according to the local police union.

Union officials noted that the officers put their "lives at risk" because the BPD Marine Unit was eliminated years ago, and the fire department's boat was unavailable.

Baltimore City Fire Department spokeswoman Khalilah Yancey told WJZ that the "fire boat was not dispatched at the time because the person was out of the water."

"Our members treated and transported the patient to the area hospital," she said.

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