Copyright WEAU
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (KYW) - An Atlantic City police officer is being hailed a hero after he jumped into chilly bay waters to rescue an injured dog. Body camera footage shows the moment when Officer Matt Schmidt made the daring decision. “That’s pretty far,” someone is heard asking him in the video. “I know, but what else am I supposed to do?” He responds. Schmidt said that he knew the dog would likely tire out since it was already struggling and the current was strong. “So, I just felt like, ‘OK, clearly a boat is not going to get here in time, so this is not a choice. I have to go if I want this dog to live,” he said. Police drone video picked up the rescue from there. Schmidt estimates he swam about 100 yards to get to the dog and secure a type of leash around its neck. “Once I had him in my control, I’m just basically talking to him,” Schmidt said. “I’m like, ‘OK, buddy, just help me. Just swim with me, not away from me. Don’t make this double hard.’ I was having a little chat with him while we were on the way back.” Back on shore, an animal control officer can barely watch. “This is why I don’t watch horror movies. I can’t with the suspense, I can’t,” the officer is heard saying in the video. Together, the Schmidt and the dog made the long swim back to land, where he eventually pulled the pup to safety in a marshy area along the shore. Schmidt described himself as a dog lover and says he’d do it all over again in a similar situation. But he doesn’t want to be called a hero. “Honestly, I was just trying to do my job. I’m just glad I got to save the dog,” Schmidt said. “I certainly wasn’t thinking that way when I was acting. I was just ... This dog has to be saved.” Animal control took the dog in and treated him for his limp. At last word, he was in good health.
