A Homestead officer who swam out for a boy with autism received a life-saving award
Officer Carston Addison, on the force less than a year, dropped his gear and swam out to bring a 12-year-old boy to shore. Chief Mario Knapp gave him a special life-saving award.
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Officer Carston Addison of the Homestead Police Department received a special life-saving award for a rescue on Aug. 2. CBS News Miami reported that he answered a call about a 12-year-old boy with autism in a pond behind the boy's home, dropped his gear, and swam out to bring him to shore. Addison has been on the force less than a year.
Chief Mario Knapp presented the award. Knapp said it was only the second life-saving award he has given since becoming chief in 2025, and that a person in the water can grab at a rescuer. Addison did not speak on camera. The boy reached shore. The report does not describe his condition after that.
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