New Jersey Police Officer Hailed a Hero After Pulling 11-Year-Old Boy from Icy Lake

A police officer in New Jersey has been hailed as a hero for rescuing an 11-year-old boy from an icy lake.

According to a Facebook post from the West Long Branch Police, police received a call reporting a child falling through the ice at Franklin Lake at 2:41 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 3.

West Long Branch Emergency Medical Services said the young man, whose name was not released, had opted to cross Franklin Lane on foot to get home quicker.

"As the ice began to crack beneath his feet, he fell through. The lake, only 6 feet deep, allowed him to stand, but the icy water quickly sapped his strength," the agency said, noting that the weather was partly cloudy and 49 degrees.

After the last few weeks of freezing temperatures, Franklin Lake was covered in about 4 inches of ice, and due to warmer temperatures, the ice had thawed, WABC-TV reports.

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Patrolman Dave Brosonski, the first officer on the scene, arrived to find the child stranded in the middle of the lake, said West Long Branch Police.

Police shared during a press conference on Tuesday that the boy made it about 75 yards in from the south side of the icy lake before falling, the Asbury Park Press reported.

"The only thing going through my mind was, 'I'm going to get to this kid, give him the help he needed and bring him back in,' " Brosonski, who is an an instructor at the Monmouth County Police Academy for water rescue, shared during the press conference.

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"I feel it was my job. I would have gone in no matter what for anyone, whether I was working or not working," said Brosonski, per the Asbury Park Press.

To help with the rescue, a nearby resident provided the officer with a rope to make sure he did not go under while trying to grab the boy.

Bodycam footage obtained by WLS-TV shows Brosonski walking through the ice to slowly pull the water out while having the rope tied around his body. The boy tells officers that he estimates he was in the water for about five minutes and cries as he says that he does not want to be in trouble.

"No, we're here to help you and we're probably just gonna have you go to the hospital," an officer is heard telling him.

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The Asbury Park Press and Fox Weather reported that the boy was uninjured but taken to a local hospital as a precaution.

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