Video: Louisiana Officer Resigns Following Water Rescue
The officer tried to rescue the family, but soon found himself needing to be rescued after the rushing water pushed his police SUV off the road.
A Haughton, LA, police officer who was facing disciplinary action after a water rescue told KSLA he turned in his resignation letter Tuesday.
A week ago, the officer, who wishes to not be named, came upon a woman and two children in need of being rescued. The woman, Jamie Stathem, and her daughter were clinging to a tree, while Stathem's son steadied himself on the roof of the flooded SUV.
The officer tried to rescue the family, but soon found himself needing to be rescued after the rushing water pushed his police SUV off the road.
Bossier Parish deputies and Bossier Fire District 2 eventually made it to the scene and rescued all 4 victims.
But since then, the Haughton officer's job has been on the line after what many are calling a "heroic rescue."
The officer said since word got out about his job hanging in the balance, hundreds of people called the police station, voicing their opinions about the incident.
A public meeting was scheduled for Tuesday at 5:00 p.m., but the city said that meeting had been canceled.
According to Haughton Chief Rodney Farrington, the special public meeting was supposed to be concerning the officer's alleged violation of policy and procedure. However, since the incident is a personnel issue, Farrington couldn't confirm whether or not the meeting was over the officer responding just outside the city limits or because a police vehicle was totaled in the flood waters.
This was the second incident for this officer involving damage to a Haughton police vehicle. In 2014, he wrecked a police unit while responding to a call for help.
Despite the results of the officer's actions, when asked if he would do it all again to save a life, he said "yes."