Gov. Quinn Gives Evanston Cop Hero Award

Gov. Pat Quinn honored an Evanston police officer Wednesday for saving a 7-year-old boy from drowning in the icy Des Plaines River while off duty, Daily Northwestern reported. 

Evanston police officer Sean O’Brien received the state health department’s Hero Award, which is given annually to courageous emergency responders and citizens across Illinois, Daily Northwestern reported. 

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“Evanston is enormously proud of you, Sean,” said Mayor Tisdahl. “Not only are you a hero but you are also well aware of the things that are going on around you, which most of us don’t pay attention to.”  

Watch a video of O’Brien speaking after being recognized by the city council. 

Jumping in Icy Water

O’Brien, who is 26, was driving home with his girlfriend in Des Plaines on March 5, when they saw a young boy run out in the middle of the intersection of Miner Street and River Road. He tried to stop the boy, but the boy continued running down the street toward the Des Plaines River.

When he got to the bank of the river, the boy picked up a big chunk of snow that had been turned up by the plows and started playing with it. Suddenly, he threw the snowball in the icy water and jumped in after it.

O’Brien leapt out of his car and ran down the bank into the water after the boy. The river came up to his waist and reached nearly to the boy’s neck.

“I saw his winter hat, his orange Bears hat,” he says, as the boy briefly went under water. He came back up, O’Brien reached out his hand and the police officer pulled him to safety.

“I was scared for both of them going in the water,” says his girlfriend, Mallory Navarra.

While O’Brien’s police training does not include water rescue, he says he’s been swimming all his life and is very comfortable in the water. Still, he was worried about the currents and the cold in the Des Plaines River. The boy was shivering slightly when O’Brien brought him to his car, and emergency responders later said he suffered mild hypothermia. 

Border Collie Lab to the Rescue

In the car, O’Brien and his girlfriend, Mallory Navarra, comforted the boy as they waited for emergency responders to arrive. Navarra brought their dog, Shandy, a Border Collie lab mix, out of the back of the car to distract him.

At first he was crying, but “When he saw the dog, he goes ‘Woof, woof!’” she recalls. 

The boy’s mother later told O’Brien that her son is autistic, and had slipped out of a family member's house earlier that day, he said. 

“She was just really thankful,” said O’Brien. “She’s so happy I was there.”

Navarra and O’Brien’s parents attended the city council meeting to see the police chief and mayor recognize his efforts. Next week, he and Navarra are planning to meet the boy and his family, who want to say thank you in person.

Earlier

• Evanston Police Officer Recognized As ‘Hero’ For Saving Boy’s Life
• Evanston Police Officer Saves Boy From Icy Des Plaines River