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Hero policeman makes waves, and now everyone wants to drown

Sgt. Billy Irvin immediately entered the water to rescue a person floating in the St. John’s River

By Chuck Campbell
Knoxville News-Sentinel

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Don’t be surprised if there’s a sudden spike in swimmers-in-distress calls in Jacksonville, Fla.

Last Tuesday afternoon, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office got a call about a body floating in the St. John’s River near the Main Street Bridge. When officers arrived, Sgt. Billy Irvin “immediately entered the water to rescue the person” – who turned out to be a woman who was alive, according to the JSO’s Facebook page.

Sgt. Irvin was able to pull the woman from the river with assistance from three construction workers who were on a nearby job site.

The Facebook post included a photo of a still-soaked Sgt. Irvin in his wet T-shirt and pants, holding his boots, to illustrate this story with a happy ending.

https://www.facebook.com/JacksonvilleSheriffsOffice/photos/a.103669232895.100082.27576742895/10154725503712896/?type=3&theater

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©2017 the Knoxville News-Sentinel (Knoxville, Tenn.)