This browser does not support the Video element.
Irving officer honored for underwater rescue
An Irving police officer was honored with a national law enforcement award for heroism in New York City on Tuesday for National First Responders Day.
NEW YORK - An Irving police officer was honored with a national law enforcement award for heroism in New York City on Tuesday for National First Responders Day.
The First Responders Children's Foundation, a nonprofit, was founded after the Sept. 11 attack, when 800 children lost a first responder parent.
Each year the group recognizes heroic acts by paramedics, firefighters and police.
"Officer Hammett, please accept this First Responders Children's Foundation Hero Award on behalf of all law enforcement officers in America," said Jillian Crane, the President and CEO of the organization.
Officer Andrew Hammett traveled to New York's Time Square to receive the recognition with the First Vice President of the Irving NAACP, Tony Grimes, who nominated him.
"The Irving Police Department does a good job. I'm really proud of the effort that Officer Hammett made and the job that he did," said Grimes.
This browser does not support the Video element.
RAW: Irving officer pulls woman from submerged car
On May 7, Officer Andrew Hammett was in a frantic fight to try to save a woman whose car was submerged upside down in an Irving canal.
On May 7, Officer Hammett was in a frantic fight to try to save a woman whose car was submerged upside down in an Irving canal.
A half dozen people who were in the water could not reach her.
"They were giving valuable intel. They were saying the windows were down, they could feel her, so I knew what side of the car she was on, and the windows were down, so there was a chance that I could get her out," Hammett recalled.
In the video, you can see Officer Hammett go under, groping the dark, murky water for anything.
"When you can't see it's kind of hard to fight the panic, but if you can do that and you can stay under and make the decision to do what you need to do, that's kind of the way I did it," Officer Hammett said.
The officer came up with the woman.
"Once I felt her down there I just started pulling until I could get her out. When I got her free, swam her over, passed her off to somebody else, went back in to see if I could find anybody else," Officer Hammett said.
There was no one else in the car.
The woman spent five days in the ICU, but sadly died.
"Hopefully family got a chance to say goodbye just by me being able to get her out," Hammett said.
The officer was demure about his attempt to save a life.
"I'm just trying to do what's right, what I'm supposed to do," he said.
In addition to Officer Andrew Hammett, five Nashville, Tenn. police officers were honored for their bravery in April, when they went into a private school and stopped a mass shooter.
An Indiana firefighter who rescued a 10-month-old baby from a burning building was also honored.