CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- On January 27th, Chicago Police Officer Miguel Del Torro learned from a citizen that a man had fallen into Lake Michigan, who was about 200 feet from the water's edge.
"The situation was dire for the victim. The air temperature was 9 degrees and the water was a dangerous 34. Eric was able to lift his dog to safety, he remained submerged in the cold water. He quickly became disoriented and was losing control of his arms and legs and it was clear he wouldn't survive much longer," said Phil Cline, Executive Director, Chicago Police Memorial Foundation
Eric Gale had jumped in to retrieve his dog Pika who had fallen into the icy waters.
"What is unique about this is that this is the first time in the history of the Chicago Police Department that body worn camera footage that captured this incident was released to the public to highlight that bravery. It's essentially like capturing lighting in a bottle," said Commander Sean Loughren.