'I Couldn't Have Lived With Myself,' Says NJ Actor Who Stopped Woman's Kidnapping

JERSEY CITY, NJ — George Pogatsia, an actor who has appeared on "The Sopranos" and "Law & Order," was recently praised for saving a woman from being kidnapped near his Jersey City home. Last Monday he reviewed the 911 recording of the incident and recounted for Patch exactly what happened that night.

Pogatsia has received plaudits from his local councilman and others for intervening when a man appeared to be carrying a young woman away against her will. READ MORE: TV Actor Stopped Woman's Kidnapping In North Jersey, Official Says

The incident took place on Nov. 1 in the Heights section of Jersey City, just up the hill from Hoboken.

After People Magazine, TMZ, Patch, and other outlets reported on the incident, Pogatsia obtained the tape. He spoke with Patch by phone Monday and shared what he had learned.

'Carried Over The Shoulder'

The incident took place after Pogatsia and his wife returned home to the Heights after a Saturday night out at Son Cubano restaurant, near the West New York waterfront, he said.

He saw a young woman and her male cousin, both possibly inebriated. A taller man was trying to grab the girl and take her away, Pogatsia said. The young woman told Pogatsia's wife in Spanish that she didn't know the man.

"[My wife] told me, 'This girl needs help; she's intoxicated she doesn't know this guy and this guy's trying to leave with her,' " Pogatsia said. "He was trying to coerce her."

Although Pogatsia, at 5-foot-10, was several inches shorter than the perpetrator, he thought that he should say or do something before the taller man got away.

"I just heard the 911 call and it's kind of triggering, brings up a lot of emotions," Pogatsia said Monday. "It was very fast and pretty intense. I'm just happy at the end of the day that the woman was safe."

'Put The ... Girl Down'

Pogatsia continued recounting the events.

"I told my wife to go in the house," Pogatsisa said. "I followed them to next corner. The girl broke free and was trying to run away. He went behind her, threw her on his shoulder, and that's when I jumped in and told him, 'Put the f---ing girl down.' "

Pogatsia then added, "If you don't put that girl down I'm going to f--- you up," he recalled.

Pogatsia said the man didn't pay attention to him the first time, but he repeated it.

"Then he dropped her like a sack of potatoes and I went to grab him and he ran away," Pogatsia said. "The streets were starting to light up with police cars."

He said besides his wife, someone else had called 911.

"Somebody had to do something, you know, and the woman was tiny," he said.

A Jersey City police spokesperson told Patch this month that the young woman was 21. Police have not made any arrests.

Getting Involved

"I want to highlight a true Heights Hero," said Ward D Councilman Yousef J. Saleh in a social media post earlier this month. "George Pogatsia, a Heights resident and actor. [He] stepped into action and stopped an attempted abduction."

Pogatsia explained why he intervened.

"I have a daughter, I have a wife," he said. "I have a couple of sisters. Somebody had to do it. I'm not telling you I wasn't concerned. [But] I was confident in my ability to make a reasonable decision."

He added, "I didn't think the guy was armed. I saw he had the girl over his shoulder, so he couldn't really fight with me at that point. You don't know what you're going to do until you're in the situation."

What's Next

Pogatsia said he's lived in Jersey City for 23 years, after growing up in Manhattan and Brooklyn. He said he likes the neighborhood feel, the city amenities, the ethnic diversity, and the arts community.

What's next for him in the arts? He's developing a feature film he wrote called Vigilant, he said.

As for that night, he said, "I haven't seen the guy before and I haven't seen him since. I was telling a friend, like, what if I do if I see this guy....[but] I couldn't have lived with myself if I didn't do anything. I would have been wondering for the rest of my life, what happened to this woman?"

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