Detroit cop rescues 2 from Lake St. Clair

George Hunter / The Detroit News

A vacationing Detroit police officer likely saved two lives Tuesday night during a dramatic, hour-long rescue of a paraplegic who fell out of his boat into chilly Lake St. Clair and a second man who dove in after him.

Anthony Johnson of Chesterfield Township, a 23-year Detroit Police veteran and avid fisherman, was nosing his Triton bass boat toward shore at about 7 p.m. Tuesday after a day of fishing on the giant lake when something floating in the distance caught his eye.

"It looked like a ball of clothes at first," said Johnson, a 49-year-old narcotics officer. "Then I thought I saw a guy waving, so I turned the boat around and went closer."

As he approached, he saw two men bobbing in the water.

"One guy was holding the other one up; the second guy was a paraplegic," Johnson said. "He was having a hard time keeping his head above the water, because he was dead weight, and they both were fully-clothed."

Johnson tried unsuccessfully to pull the men, who were not wearing life jackets, into his boat.

"I tried for about 20-30 minutes, but they were both soaking wet, and they weighed a ton," Johnson said. "I finally told the guy who could swim, 'Try to get to the back of my boat and get in, and I'll hold your friend.'"

While Johnson leaned out of his boat clutching the handicapped man's coat, the second man was able to clamber into Johnson's vessel after a 20-minute struggle.

"He finally was able to get into my boat, but he couldn't help me because he was so exhausted," Johnson said. "I forgot to ask them how long they'd been out there, but it had to be quite awhile, judging on how tired he was. It's very difficult to tread water when you're wearing a coat, jeans and shoes -- and he was also holding up his friend, who couldn't kick."

Johnson finally was able to pull the handicapped men into his boat. After both victims rested for a few minutes, they explained how they came to be in the water.

"Their boat took a sharp turn and the paraplegic fell out," Johnson said. "His buddy went into the water to get him, and their boat drifted away."

A citizen who spotted the empty boat called the St. Clair County Sheriff's Office. Members of the Marine Patrol unit dispatched rescue boats to the scene. The handicapped man's wheelchair was recovered, and the two men were conveyed to an area hospital, where they were treated and released.

Johnson, who is scheduled to return to work Monday after a three-week furlough, didn't get the names of the two men he'd saved. Sheriff's officials declined to identify the victims, although St. Clair County Sgt. Edward Golden said Johnson likely will be cited by the department for his bravery.

"He happened to be at the right place at the right time, and he did the right thing," Golden said of Johnson. "We're going to put him up for some kind of award."

Johnson's wife, Joanna, a Detroit police sergeant, described her husband as "modest" and "a hero."

"He doesn't like attention, and he's going to kill me when he finds out I'm telling people what he did," she said. "But he needs to be recognized."

ghunter@detnews.com (313) 222-2134