MIAMI (WSVN) - A Miami Police officer who saved a drowning autistic child from a river in Miami is speaking out after being hailed a hero. Bodycam video released Thursday showed the aftermath of the officer’s quick thinking.
On Friday, Officer Ernesto Fernandez was emotional when he recounted his heroic rescue because he related to the situation. The child he rescued is on the autism spectrum, and Fernandez knew exactly how to handle the situation because his son is also on the spectrum.
Fernandez was about to be off the clock and was already on his route home when he noticed the young boy running by his patrol car with no shoes on in Allapattah, along the river.
“I asked him, ‘Where’s Mami? What are you doing here by yourself?'” Fernandez said. “He didn’t say anything to me. He continued to run but he started running even faster.”
Fernandez knew something wasn’t right. He got out of his car and went after the child.
“When I started running, and I looked to the water, I see ripples in the water,” he said. “At that point, I knew he had jumped.”
Without hesitation, Fernandez jumped into the river and pulled the boy out.
“That’s when I pulled my left hand behind his back, and I gave him a couple of blows to his belly, water came out of his mouth,” Fernandez said
After saving the child, Fernandez realized that this rescue hit very close to home.
“I was was able to get to the platform, and I placed him on top of a seat of the boat that was there, and that’s when he gave me a kiss on my mouth,” he said. “At that point, I knew his was autistic because that’s something that my child does. That’s like a moment of thank you when you do something for them. My son is also autistic.”
Fernandez has a 4-year-old son named Dylan.
After the chaos of the rescue resolved, his feelings settled in.
“I think about my son. I think about him and that I was there for them,” Fernandez said.
The child was reunited with his family.
As it turned out, the 10-year-old had gotten out of his home and crossed a busy Northwest 20th Street at 27th Avenue at 3 p.m. by himself. But Fernandez was the only one who picked up that something was off, and he could not be more thankful.
“I go through the same pain everyday that they go through, and I would thank you to be there for him,” Fernandez said. “I know for a fact that if wasn’t there, we would have a different conversation.”
Fernandez is now hoping to meet with the family of the 10-year-old again to speak to them as well as their child. He hopes to stay in this boys life
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