Brick, NJ officer saves woman from drowning in lake

Officer Ray LaPoint from the Brick Township Police Department is our #BlueFriday honoree this week. He arrived first on the scene after a neighbor called police to help a woman struggling to stay afloat in the Metedeconk River.

According to reports, she was checking on her boat docked in the river and lost her footing. Struggling to stay afloat against the current and cold water temp, a neighbor heard her calling out. The neighbor gets partial credit here as well, throwing her a life preserver that the struggling woman was able to hang onto.

With the cold and the force of the water, she was quickly fatigued and losing her grip. Enter Officer LaPoint who arrived just in time to get to the water, balance on a low bean from the dock, and pull the victim out of the river.

Here's the pull quote from our news article on the incident:

Without a seconds pause, Officer LaPoint went down to a beam under the dock, grabbed onto the woman and was then able to pull her out of the water and onto the dock.
Brick Police EMT's then responded and tended to the woman to assess for injury and hypothermia.
Police said that she was safe and refused any further medical care.
"The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, stated how grateful and impressed she was with how quickly the police responded, and how Officer LaPoint was able to pull her out of the water," Chief James Riccio said in a statement. - Vin Ebenau via nj1015.com

The victim wanted to remain anonymous, which is understandable, but really, she shouldn't be embarrassed, all of us have had a slip up at one point or another. In this case, we're thankful that a quick-thinking and acting police officer was there to keep a small slip from becoming a big tragedy.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Spadea. Any opinions expressed are Bill's own. Bill Spadea is on the air weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m., talkin’ Jersey, taking your calls at 1-800-283-1015.