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Then Bernstein stopped breathing.
Turns out Officer Joseph Powderley got there just in time.
The tenor of the situation became grave as the Grammy-winning father of three went into cardiac arrest, his face turning blue, in his master bedroom.
Powderley placed Bernstein on the floor and began chest compressions, Mahwah Police Capt. Guido Bussinelli said.
The officer then shocked him with a defibrillator, attached a breathing mask and resumed compressions, the captain said.
Soon after, Bernstein opened his eyes and began breathing regularly again, to his wife Jaimie's relief.
Her 57-year-old husband is an operatic bass who debuted with the LA Opera three decades ago.
The Brooklyn-born Bernstein has sung with the Met and around the world. He’s appeared at the Met in over 530 performances, including his 500th this past New Year’s Eve as Boroff in “Fedora.” He also boasts 125 international performances, including signature roles as Figaro (“Le Nozze di Figaro”) and Leporello (“Don Giovanni”).
The conclusion of the 2022-23 season found Bernstein in the role of Lodovico in “Otello” at Carnegie Hall. A brief European tour followed, with performances earlier this summer at the Philharmonie de Paris, the Barbican Centre in London and the Festspielhaus in Baden-Baden, Germany.
As that tour was beginning, Powderley was transferring from the Demarest Police Department. He completed the field training program on Aug. 17 and entered regular rotation on Aug. 20.
Powderley had just begun riding solo when he was dispatched to the Bernsteins' home on Grenadier Drive, which abuts the Rockland County village of Suffern at Mahwah's north end.
Backup officers arrived as the singer spoke with the young patrolman who'd revived him. Right behind them were members of Mahwah EMS and paramedics from The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, where he was taken.
Bernstein turned the tables on Friday, Sept. 15, "responding" with his wife to Mahwah police headquarters so that Powderley could take a curtain call.
The officer was still beaming later that day while responding to a more routine call of a power outage at the opposite end of town.
“He’s a really nice guy – young, too,” Powderley said of Bernstein. “I’m glad I was able to help.”
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