On April 12, police were dispatched on a welfare check to the area near Second and Perry streets and witnessed a woman go over the east wall of the Salem Avenue bridge, according to the official written commendation.
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The woman was standing in the Great Miami River but was snagged by the current and carried downstream. Police had trouble reaching her.
The waterways downtown can be more dangerous than they look. The Dayton Fire Department have helped with six emergency river rescues since 2016 and responded to two incidents involving dead bodies.
When officer Dix saw the woman struggling in the water, he quickly shed his shirt, vest, belt and gun and went in after her just as she went under and ended up face down in the water, officials said.
Dix waded into cold, chest-deep water and pulled the woman to safety.
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She was taken to the hospital and was expected to fully recover. Dix received the medal of valor at the annual police ceremony in May.
On a cold day in late January, Sgt. William Gross, a 15-year veteran of the police department, responded to a call for a welfare check and encountered a man on the Keowee Street bridge above the Mad River.
The elderly man had climbed over the bridge’s guard rail, preparing to jump, said Major Joe Wiesman, commander of the East Patrol Operations Division.
The man wanted to die and said no one care about him, and he was worried about police taking him to jail, according to the written commendation.
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But Gross talked with the man and reassured him that he cared about his safety and just wanted to transport him to the hospital to receive treatment.
Gross gradually moved closer to the man, and when more emergency crews arrived, the man decided to jump and began climbing over the railing. But Gross moved quickly and grabbed the man and pulled him to the sidewalk.
The man was taken to the hospital for treatment.
Gross “more than likely saved the guy’s life” and risked his own safety, Wiesman said.
Gross was selected as officer of the year and honored earlier this year. Officer Willie Hooper also was commended for receiving the Steve Whalen Memorial Policing Award.
These stories “of heroism about the kinds of things they’ve done and continue to do out in the community are something that should … go out to the whole community so we get a flavor of how our people put their lives on the line to save other people and make other kinds of contributions to the community,” said Dayton City Commissioner Jeff Mims Jr.
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