Newly released footage shows the incredible moment a Topeka, Kansas police officer saved a drowning autistic boy from a park pond after watching him fall into the water.
Officer Aaron Bulmer of the Topeka Police Department was responding to reports of an armed robbery when he saw the boy walking alone towards the town of Topeka’s Central Park on Sunday, April 30.
Bulmer immediately got out of his patrol cruiser and was walking towards the child when he suddenly fell into the water.
Via CJ Online:
Bulmer wasted no time, diving into the cold water and reaching the child in a matter of seconds. Bulmer then got the child to shore and notified dispatchers of what had just happened, calling for an ambulance.
Bulmer would later find out that the boy was 4 years old and had autism. He apparently had walked to the park from his parents’ home about two blocks away. Police officials said his parents had been looking for him but hadn’t been able to find him.
After Bulmer got him out the water, the child — who stood about 30 inches tall — was taken by American Medical Response ambulance to a Topeka hospital and was reported to be doing well later in the day.
The boy was taken to a local hospital to be looked over by doctors. One of the boy’s parents, who had already been looking for him, was located and brought to the hospital. The boy was not injured.
As for Bulmer, he gives all the glory to God:
“I believe that God put me into that situation,” Bulmer said. “He allowed me to be in the right place at the right time.
“I believe that he directed me away from the call I was on to make sure that I found that child. That’s really been hitting me today — that God put me in that situation.”
According to Topeka police Lt. Colleen Stuart, it is common for children who are diagnosed with autism to be attracted to water.
Bulmer believes that had he been 30 seconds or a minute later, the unidentified boy would have drowned.
Steve Bulmer
