Fort Worth Police Officer Kellie Whitehead is being hailed a hero after helping save a man from drowning in Lake Como last Wednesday.
“I received a call there was a kid swimming in the water, looked like he was in distress,” Whitehead said.
Whitehead arrived on scene, locked her gun belt in her patrol car and ran to the water where she took off her shoes and bullet-proof vest before diving into the lake.
“I swam out there, it was a little bit farther than I thought,” Whitehead said. “Once I got out there, I realized it was a man.”
Whitehead positioned herself behind him and tried to help keep him afloat.
“I treaded water with him,” she said. “He’d go under a few times and I’d have to grab him and pull him back up and hang on to him – a few times he kind of got me and we both went down.”
Whitehead said she didn’t have much of a plan when she jumped into the water, she just knew someone needed help and she reacted.
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“Once I got out there, my plan was just to keep us alive,” Whitehead said
She stayed behind him, and tried to stay away from his hands in case he panicked.
“It started as, 'You’re going to be OK, just don’t panic, relax,'” Whitehead told the man. “'Just take a deep breath, relax, you’re going to be OK." And then it got to the point – we’re going to be OK, we’re going to be fine, just trying to keep both of us from panicking.”
Whitehead said she wasn’t in the water that long, but it seemed like forever. A review of the dash-camera video shows it was approximately four minutes.
Other officers and members of the Fort Worth Fire Department arrived on scene and assisted in getting both Whitehead and the man to the shore.
“That’s one of the things I was thinking of when I was in there.” Whitehead said. “I haven’t swam, I haven’t been in the water, I haven’t been in a pool in over a year.”
Whitehead said she is humbled by the experience.
“I do my job, I come to work every day, we all do, we all come to work every day – every day we all make a difference in somebody else’s life."
