Webster police officers, county dispatchers honored for rescuing 4-year-old boy

WEBSTER ― A group of South Worcester County dispatchers and Webster police officers were honored Wednesday for rescuing a 4-year-old autistic boy from a riverbank near his home.

South Worcester County Communication Center dispatchers Jessica Mahota, Victoria Longo and Bonnie Pearl; and Webster Police Officers Jonathan Brooks, Robert Rockwood and Patrick Trainor were presented with the district attorney's Team Excellence and Merit Award for their efforts Jan. 13.

Around 12:45 p.m. that day, dispatchers received a call from a babysitter that the boy, wearing only his diaper, had left the home through an open window. When the babysitter called 911, the boy had been missing for several minutes. Separately, Longo received a call from the boy's father telling her the boy liked water.

"The dispatcher was cool and calm under pressure alerting the officers and got them to where they needed to be," Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. said. "There's so much to be said for that because we've seen time and time again that assist saves time."

Brooks, Trainor and Rockwood said that once they got the call, they were focused on saving the child. They went to the French River, near the boy's home.

Trainor saw the boy on the riverbank and quickly picked him up. The boy was not injured but was taken to a local hospital as a precaution.

"Think about this child in the water. He was up to his knees and his rearend was in the water," Early said. "It was in January, so many different things could have gone wrong.

"There's a reason we do this. It's a tough job," Early said. "It's one of the hardest jobs in the world and it's just gotten harder."

The child and his family were not present at the conference Wednesday.

"The dispatchers worked well to get information to the officers in a timely manner," Webster Police Chief Michael Shaw said. "There was good teamwork all around."

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Webster police officers, county dispatchers honored for rescuing 4-year-old boy