PHOTOS: What Are These Cops Doing On The George Washington Bridge?

Spider-Man doesn’t have anything on these bridge walkers.

On Feb. 29, several local emergency responders scaled the George Washington Bridge as part of their Emergency Service Unit training.

The joint training exercise involved members of the Port Authority Police’s Emergency Service Unit, the New York City Police Department ESU, the Jersey City Police ESU and the NYC Department of Correction.

Port Authority officers organized the training, also known as a “bridge walk,” in part to acclimate members from each of the police departments who recently graduated from NYPD’s eight-month ESU training.

The bridge walkers included several PAPD officers, who are now officially members of the department’s ESU.

During the walk, Port Authority officers familiarized the group with how to access certain areas of the George Washington Bridge infrastructure during an emergency scenario, including preventing potential suicide attempts, spokesman Joe Pentangelo said.

The excursion also involved a climb up the cables to the GWB’s New Jersey tower, where the group made time to take in all of the sights and pose for a group photo, Pentangelo added.

According to the Port Authority of NY/NJ website, members of its Emergency Service Unit undergo specialized training to enhance response capabilities during emergent conditions that arise at all Port Authority facilities, as well as in response to special requests to assist with incidents outside of the agency’s jurisdiction.

“Emergency Service Unit staff is assigned to various facilities throughout the Port District to address any and all security, safety and emergency conditions that may arise on a daily basis,” the Port Authority states. “ESU police officers receive highly specialized training in a number of areas including railway and bridge emergencies.”

According to a department news release, the NYPD’s ESU unit responds to about 150,000 jobs each year, including “barricaded suspects, emotionally disturbed persons, construction accidents and other dangerous conditions in the city.”

Watch a video of the NYPD’s ESU unit in action here.

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Photos courtesy of the Port Authority of NY/NJ

Photo 2: New Officers in the PAPD’s ESU include (from left): Javier Cerna, Jonathan Roche, Paul Williams, Kevin Leonard, Eric Block, Hans Gomero, Christopher Taffera, Bryan Seeley, Greg Gilleece, Nicolas Cascarano, Troy Lopez, Michael Stoia and Brian Belfiore.