A police officer is being hailed a hero for jumping into action to rescue an 11-year-old child who fell into an icy lake.
In a Facebook post, the West Long Branch Police Department said Patrolman Dave Brosonski, an officer "highly trained in water rescue," didn't hesitate to enter the icy waters of Franklin Lake in West Long Branch, New Jersey, Monday afternoon to pull the stranded child out to safety.
Authorities have not identified the boy but said the preteen said he was trying to cross the lake as a shortcut home. The child then "had fallen through the ice" on a day when the National Weather Service reported the area saw temperatures warm up to about 50 degrees Fahrenheit, a 20-degree increase from the freezing temperatures of the night before.
Bodycamera footage shared with ABC News by the police department shows Brosonski enlist a community member to get a thick rope and tie it around him before he entered the icy water to pull the child out.
"As I was making my way to the kid in the water, I didn't know if he could potentially go under and if he went under the ice, I knew I would have to go get him, so I had the rope attached so I could be pulled back out if I had to go under," Brosonski explained to ABC New York station WABC.
The patrol officer said he was just doing his job that day and didn't like the extra attention he's received since the incident.
"I feel it was my job. I feel really more embarrassed by all the attention," said Brosonski. "I would've gone in no matter what for anyone, whether I was working or not working. To me, it's just another day."
According to the bodycamera video, the child told responding officers he had been in the water for about five minutes before he called out for help. He was later taken to a local hospital by first responders, where he received treatment for hypothermia. WABC reported the boy returned to school the following day.
ABC News reached out to the police department but has not received further comment.
"The West Long Branch Police Department is deeply grateful for Officer Brosonski's swift and heroic actions, as well as for the community members who quickly alerted authorities," the police department said in their Facebook post. "Chief Botti would also like to recognize the West Long Branch Emergency Medical Services and the West Long Branch Fire Department for their response."
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