Riley account
On the morning of July 17, 2017, the news release said, Riley was off-duty in the town of Concord, where he and his two young children were planning to spend some time at the beach at Walden Pond.
While Riley was getting settled in at the beach with his kids, he was alerted by beachgoers that there was a 70-year-old man in distress in the water about 50 feet offshore.
Riley soon realized the man had been struggling in the water and just disappeared below the surface.
Seeing that there were no lifeguards on duty, without hesitation, Riley sprang into action. He ran into the water and swam out to the area where the man was last seen. He was able to locate the drowning man, who was flailing his arms and gasping for air.
Riley took control of the man and swam back toward the shore, where he was able to successfully get him to safety. The man was treated by paramedics and transported to a nearby hospital and ultimately survived.
Wenz narrative
On Wednesday, July 12, 2017, Wenz was on patrol when he observed a motor vehicle partially submerged in the water underneath the Brattle Street bike-path bridge.
Because of the heavy rain and flash flooding, the vehicle began to float in the water under the bridge with a female occupant trapped inside.
Wenz got out of his cruiser and entered the water, which was rapidly rising, and could hear the woman yelling that she couldn’t swim. He continued walking through the water, chest deep, to the vehicle. After the woman began to climb out of her driver’s side window, Wenz carried her out of the water to safety and transported the woman back to the Arlington police station to wait out the storm and get a ride home.
Now in its 19th year, the awards night recognizes heroism among law enforcement officers and the civilians who work every day to support the efforts of policing and corrections.
This news announcement was published Tuesday, May 8, 2018.
