Woman jumps off Green Bridge. These Palmetto police officers wouldn't let her drown
Two Palmetto police officers are being hailed as heroes after they rescued a woman Thursday morning after she jumped off the Green Bridge.
The unidentified woman was seen jumping off the east side of the bridge around 10 a.m. Thursday as the tide was coming in, officials said.
Detective Joe Rogers and Sgt. Ryan LaRowe immediately responded and went down to the Palmetto Boat Ramp at Eighth Avenue West and Riverside Drive.
They luckily found a vessel right away and began searching for the woman in the water.
Within minutes they found the woman and pulled her onto the boat, Palmetto Police Chief Scott Tyler said.
She wasn't breathing, so LaRowe started to perform CPR until they got back to shore and emergency crews took over.
The woman was transported to Manatee Memorial Hospital, Chief Tyler said, and while they don't know for sure her current status, she showed some signs of regaining consciousness early-on.
"They are absolutely heroes," Tyler said. "I'm very very proud of what they both did and certainly the department will be recognizing them in our awards ceremony."
LaRowe's wife, Amber, also spoke of her husband's heroics in a post on her Facebook page:
"My husband is my hero. Today there was a lady that decided she couldn’t handle life anymore and took a jump Off the green bridge. Ryan responded soon after got on a boat and pulled her out of the water. Unfortunately she had no pulse. Ryan gave CPR to her until EMS arrived to take over. While this is what law enforcement is trained to do, it is nonetheless a very heroic act and a tragedy. We do not know if she will survive but for the time she is on a machine. Please pray for this woman, i know Ryan and I sure pray for her survival and recovery and that she will get the help she needs. If you see an officer, thank them. To do the stuff they do and go back to their lives isn’t easy. I love you Ry."
This story was originally published May 24, 2018 at 5:06 PM with the headline "Woman jumps off Green Bridge. These Palmetto police officers wouldn't let her drown."