A Florida cop who can’t swim jumps into a pond to save a baby
Officer Me’Atia Sanderson was the first officer to arrive at the scene before realizing the child was still in the detention pool.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville police officer is hailed as a hero for her quick decision-making to save a baby who is drowning in a detention pool.
The catch: she couldn’t swim either.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said June 9 that law enforcement officials had responded to a report of a drowning child on Jacksonville’s west side. Officer Me’Atia Sanderson was the first to arrive and was told the child was still in the detention pool, the sheriff’s office said a Facebook post.
Without hesitation, the sheriff’s office said that Sanderson entered the pond to save the child’s life, even though she couldn’t swim herself.
“Oh, Lord,” Sanderson says in body camera footage released by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
The video shows Sanderson rushing into the water to retrieve the child. She quickly began CPR until other responders relieved her. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said the baby survived.
In a letter from Capt. Christopher Scott of the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department confirmed Sanderson’s “quick and decisive decision to go into the retention pond.”
“Her actions, which put her own life at risk, undoubtedly saved the child’s life,” they said.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday, Nov. 22, shared body camera footage to highlight the officer’s heroic actions during the Thanksgiving holiday.
“As we continue our #weekofthanks, we at the #JSO are grateful that we officials like Ofc. Sanderson who embrace the challenges and dangers of this job every day,” the sheriff’s office said on the social media Post.
https://www.kvue.com/article/news/regional/florida-police-officer-cant-swim-pond-save-child/67-b3e6dfae-65dc-482c-b929-6c58f7f4cd4c A Florida cop who can’t swim jumps into a pond to save a baby
