In late December 2010, two Amherst (Mass.) police officers saved the life of an 83-year-old man who had lost control of his vehicle on and ended up in an icy river. First to respond was Officer David Rhoades, who broke through ice, waded into the frigid river, and pulled the elderly man to safety. By the time Rhoades was making his way toward shore with the injured man in his arms, Officer James Damouras had also arrived at the scene, helping both men from the water.
The local newspaper had a nice little article about this incident, but these LEOs didn’t receive much notice beyond the radius of the TV broadcast news — if even that. In fact, it seems that in every case where a cop is covered in a positive light by the mainstream media, the item quickly fades from the headlines, only to be replaced by some accusation of police misconduct or some other negative story. Police1 will remedy that by highlighting unsung acts of heroism — those small but special things LEOs do to change the lives of ordinary citizens they encounter every day.
Going further than simply scouring the headlines, the Police1 Editorial Team — in close collaboration with all our Columnists and Contributors — will speak with officers we encounter and continually ask the question, “Will you tell me your story of the life you saved? Will you tell me about that cop in your PD?” If you have a story to tell, just send us an email. We’d be delighted to hear from you.
