Quick action by Harbor Officers prevents tragedy Sunday night
By Sam Catanzaro
Two police officers rescued a man who had jumped off the Santa Monica Pier late Sunday night.
According to the Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD), late Sunday night two Harbor Officers – Kat Ahlers and Henry Reyes – observed a male subject sprint to the end of the pier, climb over the railing and hang from it with just his hands.
“Reyes grabbed onto him to keep the man from falling. Just as Ahlers suited up in her wetsuit, Reyes lost his grip,” the SMPD wrote in a social media post. “The subject hit the water, actively drowning. Ahlers jumped in after him, secured him in a rescue tube, and swam the drowning man to where Reyes had dropped a Stokes basket. The individual was successfully rescued uninjured thanks to the quick & decisive action of these heroes.”
The SMPD noted in the social media post that Harbor Officers are specially trained to perform water rescues from both the Santa Monica Pier and their two small boats.
