Winnipeg Police chief Danny Smyth is praising the efforts of several officers who selflessly entered the Red River to save a 37-year-old woman.
Around 1:00 am Smyth was woken by a neighbour who was pounding on his door and reported that cries from a female could be heard coming from the river behind area homes.
911 was called and emergency services responded.
Officers searched the river bank and were eventually able to shine a light on the woman in the darkness. She was about 15 metres from shore and drifting north.
Smyth who witnessed the incident said that a neighbour gave police a rope and four officers “stripped to their skivvies and slipped into the water and swam out into the darkness supported by several members back on the shore.”
Smyth said ” As a concerned citizen and as the chief of police I got to tell ya I held my breath worried about the woman in the water and now worried about our members who swam out to save her.”
The officers were able to take hold of the woman and bring her safely back to shore.
The woman was taken to a waiting ambulance and taken to hospital as a precaution.
“Last night I witnessed first hand the bravery and the risks that our members were willing to take to save a life,” said Smyth. “I witnessed the teamwork, your courage and your willingness to engage and it’s nothing short of commendable.”
© News4.ca 2021
