Body camera video obtained by CBS News Miami shows a Homestead police officer pulling a 12-year-old boy with autism from a pond behind the boy’s home. The rescue happened Aug. 2, and the department has now recognized the officer for it.
Officer Carston Addison responded to a call about a juvenile in the middle of a lake. Police said he recognized quickly that the child was in distress, took off his gear and jumped into the water to bring him to shore.
In the footage, the boy can be heard screaming, “I don’t want to go to jail,” while an officer tells him he is being taken to see a doctor.
Homestead Police Chief Mario Knapp presented Addison with a special life-saving award. It is only the second such award Knapp has given since becoming chief in 2025. Knapp said drowning victims often grab onto anything within reach, which makes a rescue dangerous for the person going in.
Addison has been an officer for less than a year and declined to speak on camera. The boy’s former foster mother, DeVita Price, praised his quick response and said the family was very frightened during the incident.
