( KRON ) — Members of the Oakland Police Department rescued a man in distress in the Lake Meritt Channel early Sunday morning, a video released by OPD shows.
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OPD said a sergeant and an officer, both of whom were unnamed, were patrolling the area when they received calls about “a person in distress in the water” in the 300 block of East 8th Street.
The video shows the sergeant and the officer attempting to pull the man from a heightened rail by the lake’s channel. “Hold on to the rope, sir… I’m going to pull you in,” OPD told the man.
Video then shows the man struggling to hold onto the rope, with his back facing the direction to where he was supposed to be pulled up. “Don’t let go! Hold back onto the rail,” a bystander said before the man let go of the rope.
One of the two OPD members then jumped into the water to search for the man. Brief moments went by before the OPD official located the man, shouting “Relax! Relax!” to calm him down.