ROOKIE COPS RESCUE DROWNING MAN
By Charles Rogers

Paerdegat Basin, where a man almost drowned Tuesday night, if it hadn’t been for quick, expert work by two recruit police officers from the 69th Precinct. Charles Rogers

Two rookie police officers who were assigned to the 69th Precinct only a month ago after graduating from the Police Academy were responsible for rescuing a man who was drowning in Paerdegat Basin last Tuesday night.

Police Officers Jamie Blande-burgo and Juliet Lopez, both part of the local precinct’s training unit, were on duty at the Foster Avenue station house at about 8:50 p.m. when a 911 emergency call came in stating that a man was in the water at Paerdegat Basin, although, according to reports, no specific location was given.

Lieutenant Dennis Ferber ordered the recruits to accompany him to the scene and, while calling for backup and other emergency services, the three began a search of the area when they heard a scream coming from an overhang near some pillars.

They walked along the edge of the water and saw the man clinging to the pillar, apparently about to lose his grip in the strong, cold current.

Officer Blandeburgo is a certified lifeguard and jumped into the water to help the man, identified as Carlos Guing, 47, a Canarsie resident, onto the shoreline. Once the victim was on shore, Officer Lopez, a certified emergency medical technician, assisted him, since, reports indicated, he was suffering from hypothermia and exposure.

Lieutenant Ferber directed other emergency personnel to the scene and paramedics from the city’s Emergency Medical Service took Guing to Brook-dale Hospital, where he was pronounced in stable condition.

Ferber said investigations are continuing as to how the victim got into the water.