VIDEO: Florida police officer who can't swim bravely jumps in pond to save infant who nearly drowned
WATCH: Florida police officer's daring rescue of baby who nearly drowned in pond
Body camera video released by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO) Tuesday shows the moment a police officer – who reportedly doesn't know how to swim – bravely jumped into a retention pond to save a baby who nearly drowned.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - WARNING: The body camera video above shows the moment a baby was rescued from a Florida pond. Viewer discretion is advised.
Body camera video released on the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO) Facebook page Tuesday shows the moment a police officer – who reportedly doesn't know how to swim – bravely jumped into a retention pond to save a baby who nearly drowned.
According to police, on June 9, Officer Me’Atia Sanderson was working in her zone, when JSO and the Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department (JFRD) were called out to a report of an infant drowning in a pond.
Sanderson was the first to arrive at the scene.
"Where's the baby," Sanderson can be heard yelling as she ran toward the retention pond located within an apartment complex. "In the pond," a woman near the pond screamed. "He's somewhere under there!"
Sanderson spotted the infant in the water and daringly went in to rescue him. "I'm getting him, I'm getting him," Sanderson told another woman who also jumped in the water to help.
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In the video, Sanderson's body camera was submerged for at least 30 seconds, before she is seen making her way back to land. JSO said she performed CPR on the child until she was relieved by other responding officers.
The captain of the fire department wrote a letter to JSO on Sanderson's behalf, to recognize the impact her "quick and decisive decision to go into the retention pond" made. "Her actions, while putting her own life at risk, undoubtedly saved the child’s life," the Facebook post stated.
Though the incident happened during the summer, JSO recently shared the video on Facebook as part of its Week of Thanks.
"As we continue our #weekofthanks, we at the #JSO are thankful that we have officers like Ofc. Sanderson, who day in and day out, take on the challenges and dangers of this job. Our community would not be what it is without them," the post stated.