Escaping Rikers Inmate Caught Making A Swim For It, Cops Say

NEW YORK, NY — An escaping Rikers Island inmate was pulled from the East River Thursday afternoon while attempting to make a swim for it, an NYPD spokeswoman said.

Correction officers "promptly" chased the man down after he hopped a fence at the jail facility at about 12:30 p.m., Deputy Commissioner of Public Information Peter Thorne said in a statement.

"Around 12:30 p.m. today on Rikers Island a detainee climbed a recreation yard fence and ran to the shoreline. That individual was promptly apprehended by DOC staff. An investigation is ongoing," Thorne said in a statement.

K-9 Officers Larry McCardle and Greg Braska were identified by the Correction Officers' Benevolent Association as the guards who caught the escaped inmate.

"Thanks to the heroic actions & quick thinking of K-9 Correction Officers Larry McCardle & Greg Braska, an attempted inmate escape was thwarted earlier today," the correction officers' union Tweeted.

The escaped inmate told police that at least one other inmate attempted to escape from the island jail, an NYPD spokeswoman said. Harbor and aviation units searched the waters near Rikers and corrections staff conducted a headcount at the facility to determine if anyone was missing, the spokeswoman said.

Police officials could not confirm personal information about the inmate who was caught.