'Protecting and serving': Fast-acting Florida police officer leaps into ocean to rescue swimmers

FLAGLER BEACH, Fla. - A Flagler Beach police officer is being credited for helping rescue two swimmers struggling in a rip current on Tuesday afternoon.

"Seeing him go out there and how quick and efficient it was, [it's] just amazing seeing that," witness Brooke Qualls said.

She was getting off work at Tortugas when she witnessed Officer Dylan Coffman rush to the scene near 7th Street and A1A.

"I saw him immediately fly his door open, and he looked right over the boardwalk," Qualls said. "I instantly saw him ripping his vest off, and he jumped over the boardwalk [and] ran."

Sean McSweeney was also nearby and watched it all play out.

"I'd never seen anything like it," he said. "It was shocking, at the same time heartwarming, to see that a first responder would just jump into action like that, and it was great."

Video shared with FOX 35 shows the moment Officer Coffman and another rescuer returned to shore. In it, you can see one of the men they helped rescue was visibly exhausted but unhurt. 

While it’s shocking what Qualls witnessed, she says it's not surprising.

"You see them do what they do every day, and you can just tell they really know what they're doing, and they know how to handle pretty much any situation that could be handed to them," she said.

It's a reminder of the risks first responders take to keep others safe.

"That's something that I will probably think about at least two times a month for the rest of my life, and I'll never forget it," McSweeney said. 

FOX 35 reached out to the Flagler Beach Police Department to request an interview with Officer Coffman, but because it's his off days, he won't be available until Friday.