Robert M. Wilson, Jr.

Robert M. Wilson, Jr., helped rescue a man from drowning, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, April 10, 2022. A 46-year-old man remained in the driver’s seat of a sport utility vehicle that was submerged in the Milwaukee River, which had a water temperature in the low 40s, about 100 feet from the near bank and 2 feet below the surface. Among those responding first to the scene in a county park was Wilson, 32, a police officer. Although a dive team was en route, Wilson removed his ballistic vest and duty belt, entered the dangerously cold water in his uniform from the near bank, and swam to the sunroof, but he could not see the man inside. Wilson swam back to wadable water, where he remained when another officer arrived and entered the river with a window-breaking tool. Wilson and the officer swam to the SUV, with the officer ultimately reaching the man, who was unresponsive, through the driver’s window and cutting his seat belt as Wilson was positioned at the hood. As the man was pulled out through the window opening, Wilson also grasped him, and he and the officer swam the man toward the near bank with the current pulling them downriver. Near wadable water, other officers met them and helped drag the man onto the bank, where officers tried to revive him. The man, who was taken to a hospital, survived. Wilson was treated at a hospital that afternoon for his exposure to the cold water and recovered after having a cough for about a week.