A Florida police officer risks her life to save a baby from drowning in a pond despite not being able to swim herself. A Jacksonville Sheriff’s officer is being praised for not hesitating to enter a retention pond to rescue a baby even though she doesn’t know how to swim. Earlier this year, Officer Me'Atia Sanderson of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) responded to a call about a child drowning in an apartment complex retention pond in West Jacksonville.
The incident, which took place in June, was recorded on Sanderson’s body camera and the JSO just released the footage on their Facebook page. The video shows Sanderson running toward the retention pond and rushing into the water to retrieve the lifeless baby. She then performs CPR on the baby until two other officers take over for her.
The JSO honored Sanderson for her "quick and decisive decision to go into the retention pond." The baby was later said to be in “very critical condition” but reportedly survived the ordeal, thanks to Sanderson. In a letter sent to the JSO from Captain Christopher Scott of Jacksonville Fire & Rescue, he writes that Sanderson’s actions “while putting her own life at risk, undoubtedly saved the child’s life.”
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