New Jersey Officer Catches 1-Month-Old Baby Thrown From Balcony; Infant Unharmed

A New Jersey police officer was praised for jumping in action and catching a 1-month-old baby after she was flung from a second-floor balcony by a man Saturday morning. The infant was unharmed in the fall.

Jersey City Police Department (JCPD) responded to Rose Avenue after getting a call about a man "dangling a baby over a balcony," Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione, city spokesperson, told NJ.com.

Officers set up a perimeter to negotiate, urging the man not to drop the baby, but after around two hours, the man eventually "did throw the one-month-old baby from the second story of the building," Mayor Steven Fulop said in an Instagram post.

Fulop shared a picture of the cop, identified as Officer Eduardo Matute, holding the baby, who was wrapped in a white towel, at a nearby hospital.

"Thankfully the baby wasn't harmed physically," Fulop wrote in the post,

The bystanders pleaded with the man to not drop the child and five officers formed a human chain underneath the balcony in case he did, according to Northern Highlands Daily Voice.

A video shared on Instagram by an onlooker shows the tense negotiation between the cops and the man.

"Don't do it, brother," the man holding the camera could be heard saying in the clip. "This is sick."

The Hudson County Prosecutor's Office also praised Officer Joseph Casey and Incident Commander Capt. Michael McKerry for their "actions and bravery" while responding to the incident.

"Kudos to the JCPD and all the officers involved for their heroics and for bringing a safe conclusion to this dangerous situation," Prosecutor Esther Suarez said in a statement.

The suspect, who has not been publicly identified, was arrested and an investigation is ongoing, Wallace-Scalcione told NJ.com.

The man was charged with attempted murder, as well as aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a child. As a precaution, the baby was brought to a hospital after the incident as per the Daily Voice.