By: Alexander Gault-Plate
OSWEGO – On Feb. 21, the Oswego City Police Department announced that five of their officers had received congressional recognition from Rep. John Katko, honoring them for their work to save a woman from drowning in the Oswego River last December.
The five officers to receive honors were Brandon Kells, Joshua Martin, Brady Slimmer, Christopher Pritchard and Daniel Balloni. Kells, Slimmer and Pritchard all received Certificates of Congressional Recognition, while Balloni received a separate, more distinguished award for his service.
On Dec. 29 of last year, the five officers responded to a welfare complaint in the area of the Oswego River near West Seneca Street and found a 20-year-old female floating on the western side of the Oswego River, just off the edge of West Linear Park. She appeared to be struggling to stay afloat and attempts to rescue her with one of the lifesaving rings that line the river were unsuccessful.
That was when Balloni decided to enter the frigid waters to save the victim, the very actions that garnered him special congressional recognition, at the request of Rep. Katko.
The other officers then pulled the officer and the victim to safety, where both were taken to the hospital for evaluation and treatment.
“For our guys, we were excited for the acknowledgement of them, for just doing their jobs,” said Lt. Damien Waters, spokesman for the Oswego City Police Department. “For someone like Congressman Katko to have been paying attention and aware of it meant a great deal to the guys.”
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Congratulations to the officers, and thank you Congressman Katko for your recognition and support of them. We truly have very good representation in Congress from you.