The Toledo Police Department released body camera footage showing several officers attempting to rescue a young boy who had fallen into an icy pond. The trouble was that upon going to rescue the boy, two police officers themselves fell through the ice and needed to be rescued.
It all unfolds in the video below courtesy the Toledo Police Department. Give it a watch:
This occurred last Friday, January 18 when a 9-1-1 call came in for a boy submerged in the icy water. One officer went to go throw the boy a rope for help, but then the officer fell in the icy water himself. The voices in the video are a bit chilling, as the exchange goes like this:
“Oh it’s crackin’ [the ice] It’s slick, you can hear it crackin'”
“Hold the rope, hold the rope! Hold onto the rope Brian, gimme your hand!”
Both the officers and the young boy ended up getting pulled out of the icy water and helped to safety. The police department commends the young boy’s friend who made the initial 9-1-1 call. The department also urges people not to go out on the ice unless absolutely positive the ice is safe.
How do you tell if the ice is safe? You want to make visual confirmation that there are no big cracks and weaknesses in the ice. You need at least four inches of thickness to go out on the ice. If you want to bring any snowmobiles or automobiles, you’ll need much thicker ice upwards of a foot.
Be especially careful when venturing out on the ice after big temperature swings. We just experienced a warm spell in parts of the country in mid-January. Now that it’s getting colder again, give it some time for the ice thickness to grow before you go out on it!
For WeatherNation, Meteorologist Steve Glazier