Police said the mannequin was extremely realistic, with real clothing, glasses, teeth and skin.
Highlights
- The incident took place in New York's Hudson city
- Cops found a seat-belted figure with an oxygen mask in the passenger seat
- The mannequin's owner said he used it as a medical training aid
New York police broke into a vehicle to 'rescue' an apparently frozen woman on Friday, only to find it was a life-size mannequin, media reports said.
The police got the information from a caller to report a woman "frozen to death" in a parked car in the city of Hudson. The officers immediately rushed to the spot to find a car covered in snow, suggesting it had been left overnight in temperatures of about minus13 degree Celsius.
Inside the car, there was a figure wearing an oxygen mask sitting motionless in the passenger seat, police said.
The mannequin was extremely realistic, with real clothing, glasses, shoes, teeth and skin blemishes. It was even wearing a seat belt, police added.
They later tracked down the owner, who complained about the police action. The mannequin's owner said he used it as a medical training aid.
"It is my understanding that the owner was incredulous that we took action in this matter," police chief L Edward Moore said in a statement.
"He apparently was quite vocal and vulgar to my sergeant," Mr Moore added.
"Just to clear the record, all citizens of Hudson should be put on notice that if you park your locked vehicle on the street on a sub-zero night with a life-size realistic mannequin seated in it... we will break your window," was Chief Moore's message for mannequin owners.