A Vermont state police officer was recorded plunging into icy waters to rescue a drowning 8-year-old child.
Vermont State Police released on Friday footage of Trooper Michelle Archer making the daring rescue on Dec. 17.
“There wasn’t a whole lot of thinking going on. Something was taking over – training. It was the opposite of panic,” Archer told local outlet Vermont News First.
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The 8-year-old and her sibling were playing near or on the frozen surface of a private pond near where they lived when the ice gave way.
An elderly neighbor who was unable to swim managed to help the sibling out of the water before Archer — who was on patrol only minutes away — arrived at the scene.
Archer utilized a flotation device kept in the back of her cruiser to bring the child onto the snowy shore. When the child was on land, she began making noises, alerting the police that she was still alive.
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Fellow trooper Keith Cote took the child from Archer and rendered life-saving first aid before recuse teams put her into an ambulance and took her to a nearby hospital.
Archer began undressing out of the water-logged clothes before warming up in her police car.
The child made a full recovery at the University of Vermont Medical Center and was released from the hospital after several days of treatment.
Archer, Cote, and the property owner who assisted in the rescue were commended by Vermont State Police for their conduct.
All three received the state police’s Lifesaving Award for their actions.
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