A Florida police officer is being hailed a hero after helping two swimmers struggling in a dangerous rip current.
It happened Tuesday afternoon, Flagler Beach police said on Facebook, when Officer Dylan Coffman jumped into action.
“Literally watched him SPRINT out of his police car, ripped off his vest, and dove into the water and save not one, but two people who were extremely, so far back in the water, stuck in NASTY rip currents,” eyewitness Brooke Qualls said in a public Facebook post.
Qualls told FOX 35 Orlando she was getting off work when she saw it all unfold near 7th Street and A1A.
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Witness Brooke Qualls captured this photo of Officer Dylan Coffman sprint into action. (Brooke Qualls via Flagler Beach Police Department)
Video shared with the TV station showed when Officer Coleman and another rescuer returned to shore. One of the men saved appeared to be fatigued, but both are expected to be okay.
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Two swimmers were caught in a dangerous riptide when Officer Dylan Coffman jumped into action. (Flagler Beach Police Department)
A close up of Officer Dylan Coffman after the rescue. (Flagler Beach Police Department)
“I’d never seen anything like it,” witness Sean McSweeney told the local station. “It was shocking, at the same time heartwarming, to see that a first responder would just jump into action like that, and it was great.”
“Kudos Dylan on going above and beyond to make our city safe,” Flagler Beach Police Department wrote on Facebook.
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Thursday morning, the Flagler Beach PD posted guidance for rip currents on their Facebook page. They advised anyone pulled out to remain calm and not try to fight against the current by swimming to shore.
“You will quickly become exhausted,” the post warned. “Instead, float and swim parallel to the shore, and eventually, you will escape the current.”
