NJ officers spent 2 hours talking a distressed woman off a fire escape before saving her

🚨U.S. Marshals spent 2 tense hours trying to save a woman threatening to jump

🚨The woman climbed several stories after officers tracked her to an apartment

🚨Deputies pulled her to safety and took her into custody

EAST ORANGE — U.S. Marshals pulled a despondent woman to safety after she threatened to jump from a fire escape several stories above the ground.

Tamara Rankin, 39, had been wanted by East Orange police since April and was tracked to an apartment complex on Oraton Parkway on Wednesday. When officers knocked on the door, Rankin went out a window to the fire escape and climbed up several stories.

U.S. Marshals, following behind, stood on the landing as Rankin, who appeared to be emotionally distressed, threatened to jump. The officer shifted from trying to take the woman into custody to getting to come down while awaiting the arrival of first responders.

Two-hour standoff

After a tense two-hour standoff, a deputy was able to pull Rankin to safety.

Rankin was arrested on aggravated assault and weapons charges.

“No arrest is more important than a human life,” Nicholas Ricigliano, acting U.S. marshal for the District of New Jersey, said. “The professionalism and restraint shown by the deputies and responding officers helped bring a dangerous and emotional situation to a safe conclusion.”

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