KNOXVILLE, TN – When the flames erupted, many people stood by and watched. But one off-duty cop, who was out running errands, sprang into action.
According to a Knoxville news station, University of Tennessee Police Corporal Kyle Botica was on Interstate 40 in Knox County when he saw a truck with a fifth-wheel camper under an overpass. A brake fire had spread and engulfed the camper.
Botica said:
“I didn’t notice any emergency vehicles going by me and I didn’t see any behind me and I didn’t see any there. So, at that point I thought ‘I gotta stop cause this is new. There’s nobody here, nobody’s responded yet.”
Off duty on Wednesday, @UTPolice Corporal Kyle Botica came across a fire on the interstate. Seeing there were no emergency vehicles nearby, he stopped.
Thanks to training & instincts, Botica helped save a life when a citizen who was helping collapsed at the scene.
More on #wbir pic.twitter.com/00HX3iGhUq— Alex Myers (@AlexMyersTV) October 23, 2020
He said that it was simply his training kicking in.
“You kind of get wired to see a problem and try to help when you do, at least for me personally. I’d also rather do something than go by and regret not doing something.”
Botica and another motorist worked together and were able to disconnect the goose-neck, allowing the owner to pull his vehicle away from the fire. As they were moving people away from the area, the man who assisted Botica collapsed.
He and another bystander were able to move him to a safer location. When Botica went to evaluate the unresponsive man, he had no pulse.
It was just a normal Wednesday afternoon for UT Police Corporal Kyle Botica, until he came across a burning camper. https://t.co/EUVG2U2BDE
— Bianca Marais WJHL (@BiancaWJHL) October 23, 2020
He immediately began CPR. An off-duty nurse at the scene monitored breathing and pulse while the Corporal handled the chest compressions. Once arriving on the scene, the Knoxville Fire and an ambulance crew took over, transporting the man to a local hospital.
“Myself and some of the other people who were there, picked him up and moved him further away from the fire. I think he was probably only like 30 feet from the trailer when he fell.
“I couldn’t get a pulse off of him and I couldn’t see him breathing. A nurse who was there, I don’t know who she is, I don’t know her name or anything, um, she was at his head and counted for me. She had a little portable mask with her and actually gave breaths.”
The following video is courtesy of WATE ABC 6.
Knoxville Fire Department Assistant Chief Mark Wilbanks sent a message to the University of Tennessee police department. In that message he highlighted Botica’s efforts as what likely helped to save the man’s life.
He said:
“A lot of people will tell you this if you talk to people in law enforcement. That’s why I chose law enforcement as a career. I saw it as a really good opportunity to help people when they need help.
“You know, it makes you feel good obviously when you get to accomplish that.”
But, Botica was quick to point to the other people, with no medical or law enforcement training that had stopped to help, potentially putting their own lives in danger to help someone they didn’t know.
“I also want to thank other people who showed up. It’s not something everyone does, and so it’s very admirable that multiple people stopped to help complete strangers and put themselves potentially in harms way to do so.”
He also had a message for two people in particular.
UTPD Corporal Kyle Botica was off duty and on his way to run errands yesterday afternoon when he drove past a burning camper trailer on Interstate 40 west. His quick action to give CPR to a man who collapsed saved his life. More: https://t.co/mgrQAJRtuo pic.twitter.com/MWK4ntO6Xm
— UT Police (@UTPolice) October 22, 2020
The first was the nurse who assisted him:
“Nursing’s another career you choose to help people and you put yourself under a lot of stress to do that. And I really appreciate her work, her help. It made things a lot smoother and it very well likely helped that man survive.”
Lastly, he spoke in reference to the man who suffered the heart attack.
“He was there to help people he didn’t know and he obviously put himself in legitimate harms way to do so. It’s always encouraging to see people who don’t have the training that I have and don’t have that built-up response where they just kind of automatically go.
“To see them doing that too is just really encouraging.”
Just another in a long line of officers saving lives while some across our country want to defund, dismantle and abolish police departments across the board.
This type of heroic effort is common in law enforcement, but this type of action hardly makes the national news reel. It hurts the “defund” narrative, so why would they air it.
We are one of the few groups with a nationwide audience that will share this type of story with you. And we share it with no regret.
HAMPTON, GA – A hero officer from the Hampton Police Department is receiving praise after saving two different people within the span of eight days.
Hampton Police Officer Mason Lewis was recently honored by the Hampton City Council and Mayor who presented him with a city proclamation for his efforts.
https://www.facebook.com/officialmissionhero/posts/154128839696563
On July 13, Lewis was dispatched to a domestic disturbance between a man and his ex-wife. During the disturbance, the man allegedly ran his ex-wife off the roadway and then attacked her with a machete.
Lewis was able to locate the woman who had suffered severe injuries to her arm from the attack. The woman’s arm had been severed below the elbow and Lewis’ quick thinking to apply a tourniquet allowed the bleeding to stop, which most likely saved her life until medics could arrive.
In a Facebook Post by mission: HERO, they said:
“Paramedics and doctors advised this quick action by Officer Lewis directly prevented the loss of life of the female.”
In a second incident on July 21, Lewis responded to a person who appeared to have been overdosing from narcotics. When Lewis arrived, he found the man unconscious. Lewis quickly used NARCAN on the man, which revived him until medical personnel arrived.
In the proclamation, the City Council wrote:
“In both incidents, Officer Lewis’ quick thinking and courageous response can be credited with saving the lives of these individuals.”
Steve Hutchison, the Mayor of Hampton, said that he and the city council praised Lewis for his actions. He said that he wished to:
“[E]xtend to him [Lewis] and his family the heartfelt gratitude of the community he serves.”
In another story of heroism by a police officer, Lieutenant David Grogan of the Deptford Township Police Department was recognized on Sept. 30 for his actions in saving a life. Lt. Grogan and other members of the agency responded to an apartment fire with visible flames.
Upon their arrival, they were able to rescue one person immediately, but flames prevented them from saving the other two elderly people that were inside. The Facebook Post from mission: HERO said:
“Deptford Police Officer Todd Brown arrived and quickly positioned his police car near the balcony of the apartment where the other two residents were trapped. Lieutenant Grogan used the car and yelled out to the residents and heard a woman respond.
“Without hesitation, Lieutenant Grogan climbed onto the balcony and into the smoke filled burning apartment. Crawling on his hands and knees, Lieutenant Grogan found the woman and pulled her out to the balcony.
“Lieutenant Grogan helped the woman onto the fire truck ladder and down to safety.
“The third person that was trapped was rescued by firefighters.”
https://www.facebook.com/officialmissionhero/posts/157408659368581
Officers quick thinking without regard to their own safety enabled them to rescue three elderly people who may well have died if they had not acted. For Lt. Grogan, he did so specifically at his own peril and had to be transported to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.
Deptford Township Acting Police Chief Frank Newkirk weighed in on his officer’s heroism. He said:
“Lieutenant Grogan showed a high level of bravery by entering a burning building to rescue two residents. Those residents might not have survived if not for Lieutenant Grogan’s bravery.”
Law Enforcement Today wishes to recognize these fine officers who truly went above and beyond in the call of duty to save lives. We are all proud of you!
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