Isle of Man - Castletown - Brave Police Officer Saves Woman From Drowning
10-22-06
A hero cop risked her life diving into the sea to save a distressed woman. Constable Faith Cooper leapt into the outer harbour at Castletown in a desperate bid to rescue the suicidal woman.
The 33-year-old said it was all in a day's work, but her bravery has earned her a nomination for a commendation from Chief Constable Mike Culverhouse. Deputy Chief Constable Mike Langdon said Faith had put her life at risk, but acted without fear for her personal safety.
Night had fallen when the call came in from a member of the public that a woman was threatening to throw herself in the harbour. Faith was dispatched from Castletown police station, and found the distressed woman at the end of the breakwater.
'She had already been in the water, and was on the steps into the harbour when I arrived,' said Faith. 'I was trying to talk to her, but she made it clear she was going to go back into the water.
'She went back down the steps, so I ran down after her and followed her into the water. 'She was struggling. I thought at one point she would pull me right under, but I managed to get her to the water's edge.'
The man who had raised the alarm and Faith's colleague Constable Adrian Brooks, who had arrived from Port Erin, helped lift the woman from the water. The woman was uninjured and able to receive the help she needed. Modest Faith, who has been based in the south for three years, played down her heroics. 'It is just part of my job,' she said. 'You don't think twice about it. 'I think it has to be part of the job, but it is also just human instinct as well. We are here to preserve life. 'I am just glad I was in the area and close by. Also, if it hadn't been for the gentleman who phoned it in, it may have turned out differently.'
It isn't the first time Faith's heroics have drawn accolades, she was commended after risking her life to rescue a woman from a house fire while working in South Wales, before she transferred here in 2000. Mr Langdon said: 'Without fear for her personal safety she entered the water at Castletown harbour to help a vulnerable female.
'She had to go down a set of slimy steps, entered the sea and ended up struggling with this woman. She put her life at risk trying to restrain and rescue the woman, but managed to pull her out of the water, with the assistance of another police officer and a member of the public.
'We are enormously proud of our officers, that they take this sort of incident as an every day occurrence, their duty and something which is expected of them.'
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