A rookie Manalapan police officer ended a routine beach patrol with the dramatic rescue of two snorkelers from the Boynton Inlet.
Officer David Hul, who joined the force in December, reported he had just finished his patrol on the town’s all-terrain vehicle when a group of people at Ocean Inlet Park flagged him down a little before 2 p.m. Sept. 11. A woman and a man were struggling against the current and clinging to the Bird Island seawall.
Hul, 24, retrieved the rescue rope from the ATV and threw it to the snorkelers before they were swept into the inlet.
“Both swimmers grabbed onto and held the rope while two bystanders and I began to pull them north around the seawall to a calmer area of water,’’ he reported.
A boat that had been anchored off Bird Island came over to help, took the snorkelers aboard and brought them to the park’s seawall, Hul continued.
Rescued were Deborah King, 48, and Scott Zoltak, 42, both of Boynton Beach. Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue treated the pair for cuts, Hul wrote in his report.
Police Chief Clay Walker gave Hul the department’s special Life Saving Award at the start of the town’s Sept. 15 budget hearing. The honor includes a medal for Hul’s dress uniform, a pin for his regular uniform and a commendation letter in his personnel file.
“You were in the right place at the right time and took the right actions,’’ Walker told Hul. “And I’m sure that two people here in the community that were visiting in that area are greatly appreciative.’’
The Life Saving Award is one of three medals the department gives, the others being for an officer wounded in line of duty and for one who performs an act of valor.
Hul, a graduate of Florida Atlantic University, was honored “for an act performed in the line of duty. Through prompt and alert actions, a human life was saved,’’ Walker said.
“I’m sure all of us appreciate what our officers do,’’ Mayor Basil Diamond told the chief. “What strikes me in this case is this occurred not in the town of Manalapan, didn’t involve a resident of the town, and there was no hesitation on his part. I really appreciate the fact that you chose to commend him for his work. He certainly deserves it.’’
Comments