What to Know
- A man was reunited with the NYPD officer he saved at a Staten Island hospital last month when she was overpowered by a prisoner
- The man was a patient at the hospital when he was able to convince the prisoner to put down a gun he had aimed at the subdued officer
- The Staten Island precinct where the officer works honored the man at a ceremony on Wednesday
A hospital patient who saved the life of a rookie NYPD officer when she was overpowered by a prisoner with a gun in a hospital room was honored by a Staten Island precinct.
Rafael Muniz received plaques from the captain of the 120th precinct on Wednesday for the bravery he showed when he was a patient Richmond University Medical Center last month. During the ceremony, he was also reunited with the woman he saved.
Muniz was in his hospital room in August when he heard the NYPD officer screaming in the next room. She was screaming, “Please help me! He has my gun! I don’t want to die!”
Muniz ran out of his room to help her.
“There was no way I wasn’t going to react,” Muniz said. “It was life and death to her and I heard it in her screams.”
When Muniz got to the room he found the suspect on top of the officer. He had taken her gun and had the weapon pointed at her. His finger was on the trigger.
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Muniz said: ‘You don’t have to do this.’”
“When he finally heard me and looked at me. He said, ‘My finger is on the trigger.’” I said, ‘Brother, all you have to do is take your finger off the trigger. That’s all you have to do.’”
Muniz’s appeal worked and the suspect put down the gun. He says he wasn’t afraid during the heat of the moment.
“I was thinking about her life, it was all about her. She was in a real bad situation. I’m just glad I was able to help.”
