Police from the Westchester County Police Marine Unit who were diverting a wayward humpback whale back toward New York Harbor rescued a man from the Hudson River Friday night after he jumped from the George Washington Bridge.



Detective C.J. Westbrook and Officer Wilberto Saez had been working with other marine units during the day to safeguard a humpback whale that had headed up the Hudson River, police said. The county police Marine 2 patrol boat stayed with the whale when it turned back south at the Bronx-Westchester border on Friday afternoon.

The officers were keeping a visual watch and providing a safety zone around the whale so it would not be struck by another vessel as it headed back down the Hudson River. As Marine 2 approached the George Washington Bridge at 5:22 p.m., the two officers observed a man leap from the span and plummet to the river below. They located him quickly, pulling him aboard the patrol boat before he could slip beneath the surface. The man was in cardiac arrest and the officers began to perform CPR.