WATCH: Boston Cop Rescues Drowning Woman - East Idaho News
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WATCH: Boston Cop Rescues Drowning Woman

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abc boston water rescue jef 121224 wblog?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1356359269109ABC News(BOSTON) — A Boston police officer is being hailed a hero after he jumped into the frigid cold water to rescue a drowning woman.

Cellphone video showed police officer Edward Norton plunging into Fort Point channel Friday afternoon during a torrential downpour to rescue the unidentified woman who’d reportedly fallen in by accident.

Norton, who just happened to be in the right place at the right time, says he didn’t think twice about jumping in.

“It just kind of happened.  I saw her there.  Someone had to do it,” Norton told ABC News.  “As I was in the air, I was thinking I don’t know what’s under the water.”

Once in the water, Norton’s bullet-proof vest weighed him down, making the rescue more complicated than he anticipated.  Onlookers did their part by tossing in a life preserver, which helped keep the frantic woman afloat.

“She kept saying stuff like, ‘I can’t hold on.’  So, I told her, ‘Hold on.  Help is coming,’” Norton said.

The officer remained with the woman in the water until firefighters arrived on the scene and pulled them both out of the water to safety.

Both were taken to local hospitals and checked for hypothermia, but were released with a clean bill of health.

As for the people calling Norton a hero, he says, not really because it’s all in a day’s work.

“I feel like I did what I would expect to do for one of my loved ones.  My wife, my daughter, anyone,” Norton said.

While everyone made it out of the water safely with no injuries, there was one casualty so to speak.  Norton says his wedding band slipped off when he hit the water, and hero or not, his wife is none too pleased.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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