VIDEO: Brevard County Sheriff’s Office Aviation Unit Conducts Water Rescue
By Brevard County Sheriff // November 8, 2015
BREVARD COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE AVIATION UNIT CONDUCTS WATER RESCUE Earlier today our Aviation Unit received a call regarding a swimmer in distress who had gone into the ocean near A1A in Indiatlantic. The female swimmer was subsequently located approximately 1/2 mile off shore with no flotation device and in apparent peril. The female appeared to be exhausted and in need of immediate assistance. With no time to spare, our “Tactical Flight Officer” deployed from the helicopter to try and rescue the victim. While the “Tactical Flight Officer” entered the water to steady the swimmer our pilot gained the attention of a nearby civilian boat who was directed to the immediate area. Once the boat arrived our “Tactical Flight Officer” was able to help the swimmer into the boat at which time the female was transported to a waiting Lifeguard and Firefighter who had positioned themselves approximately 200 feet offshore. The victim was then transported to Holmes Regional Medical Center for medical attention. Please join me in commending our Aviation Team of Pilot John Coppola of the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office and Tactical Flight Officer Bernie Bernardo of the Melbourne Police Department as well as Brevard County Fire Rescue Lifeguard Carlos Jenkins and Firefighter Christopher Gulliver who assisted with the rescue effort on shore. I would like to also give a special thank you to Nathan and Stacy Shaw, the operators of the boat who didn’t hesitate to get involved to help someone in need!!Sheriff Wayne Ivey
Posted by Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, Florida (Official) on Saturday, November 7, 2015
On Saturday, our Aviation Unit received a call regarding a swimmer in distress who had gone into the ocean near A1A in Indiatlantic.
The female swimmer was subsequently located approximately 1/2 mile off shore with no flotation device and in apparent peril.
The female appeared to be exhausted and in need of immediate assistance. With no time to spare, our Tactical Flight Officer deployed from the helicopter to try and rescue the victim.
While the Tactical Flight Officer entered the water to steady the swimmer, our pilot gained the attention of a nearby civilian boat who was directed to the immediate area.
Once the boat arrived our Tactical Flight Officer was able to help the swimmer into the boat at which time the female was transported to a waiting Lifeguard and Firefighter who had positioned themselves approximately 200 feet offshore.
The victim was then transported to Holmes Regional Medical Center for medical attention.
Please join me in commending our Aviation Team of Pilot John Coppola of the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office and Tactical Flight Officer Bernie Bernardo of the Melbourne Police Department, as well as Brevard County Fire Rescue Lifeguard Carlos Jenkins and Firefighter Christopher Gulliver who assisted with the rescue effort on shore.
I would like to also give a special thank you to Nathan and Stacy Shaw, the operators of the boat who didn’t hesitate to get involved to help someone in need.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey has been a law enforcement officer for over three decades. Sheriff Ivey is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and has a Bachelor’s Degree from Daytona State College in Management and Supervision. Sheriff Ivey’s background in law enforcement is inclusive of Management, Criminal Investigations, Narcotics, Patrol Services, Public Integrity Investigations, and Corrections.
Prior to being elected in 2012, Sheriff Ivey served the citizens of the State of Florida as a Resident Agent in Charge for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. As a member of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Sheriff Ivey developed and created the country’s first ever statewide Task Force on Identity Theft.
That same year the Task Force was named one of the top five most innovative programs in the country by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and investigated approximately 44 million dollars in fraud cases. Additionally, as a member of FDLE, Sheriff Ivey created the Child Abduction Response Team (C.A.R.T) that re-defined the way Child Abduction cases are conducted throughout the country today.
Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey has been a law enforcement officer for over three decades. Sheriff Ivey is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and has a Bachelor’s Degree from Daytona State College in Management and Supervision. Sheriff Ivey’s background in law enforcement is inclusive of Management, Criminal Investigations, Narcotics, Patrol Services, Public Integrity Investigations, and Corrections.
The program was later selected as the most innovative program in the country by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and is now used as a nationwide model in the response and investigation of child abductions.
Sheriff Ivey has testified before the United States Congress on law enforcement related matters and has extensive experience in the area of Public Integrity Investigations. Sheriff Ivey was honored as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Special Agent of the Year (1996) and was also recognized by the Commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for his Outstanding Contributions to Criminal Justice. In August of 2011 Sheriff Ivey was honored by the National Organization of Victims Advocacy for his work at the national level as an advocate of victim’s rights and protection.
Sheriff Ivey speaks regularly on topics such as Identity Theft, Crime in America, Human Trafficking, Domestic Violence, and Self Defense through Mental Preparedness. Sheriff Ivey firmly believes that Crime Prevention and Education are vital to reduce our crime rate and protect our community.
