A Miami police officer rescued a 10-year-old boy who had fallen into the Miami River in the Allapattah sector and was drowning.
“We are proud of you Ofc. Fernández. Great job!” The Miami police published on their Twitter account. instagramwhere they also released the information.
According to authorities, Officer E.Fernandez was patrolling an Allapattah neighborhood when he observed a child running along the Miami River.
That’s when Fernández said the boy disappeared. The officer immediately ran over and saw the boy struggling in the water.
Fernández immediately jumped into the water and saved the child from drowning. Upon contacting the family, they were informed that the boy was autistic and had trouble communicating verbally.
HE IDENTIFIED THAT HE WAS A CHILD WITH AUTISM
Fernández recounted how he lived those moments. “The boy was practically sunk, with his hair above the water (…) making efforts with his hands, he was drowning,” he says.
He explains that when he saw that situation he jumped into the water, swam to him, put him on his shoulder until they could get out of the water. Then he applied maneuvers so that he could expel the water that he had swallowed. “I pushed his belly twice and water began to come out of his mouth (…) I sat him on top of a seat in the back of a yacht and that’s when he kissed me on the mouth. At that moment I realized that the child was autistic since I have an autistic child and they do that a lot, when you do something for them and they want to thank us,” the police said.
The little boy had run out of his house and once rescued, he was attended by Miami police personnel and they contacted his family.
According to the Miami police department, Fernández also has a son with autism, making the story even more personal for him.
