Staff Reports
On Monday a harrowing video shared by the Port Orange Police Department captured officers racing into a stormwater pond to rescue an elderly driver after his car veered off the road, a stark reminder that ordinary people still perform extraordinary acts to keep our communities safe. The footage, which local outlets reported on February 19, 2026, shows law enforcement moving without hesitation into dangerous water to reach the sinking vehicle.
The bodycam and social-post footage plainly show one officer wading out to the floating car and breaking a side window while another entered the water to help pull the vehicle closer to shore, working together until the driver could be removed. Their calm, coordinated actions turned what could have been a headline about needless tragedy into a story about skill and courage under pressure.
Port Orange officials singled out Officers Peterson, Velez, and Herstein for commendation, noting the driver later told them his door locks were inoperable and that he may have fallen asleep at the wheel before drifting into the pond. That single lapse could have cost a life, and yet these officers answered the call without blinking.
This is the sort of plainspoken bravery the national conversation should celebrate instead of obscuring with clickbait and cheap outrage; these officers ran toward danger so a neighbor could go home to his family. Hardworking Americans understand what real service looks like — action, sacrifice, and accountability — and we should demand our media report it honestly.
At the same time this incident should prompt sober conversation at kitchen tables across the country about responsibility for elderly loved ones who drive, routine medical checks, and the simple safeguards that prevent avoidable emergencies. Public gratitude for first responders must be matched by private responsibility from families who can prevent these close calls before they happen.
So let’s recognize the men and women who still answer the call, applaud their professionalism, and insist our communities back them with resources and respect. America is built on neighbors helping neighbors and officers protecting those neighbors; when that chain holds, lives are saved and freedom endures.
