After 12 Years, Police Officer Reunites with Boy He Saved from Near Drowning in Emotional Surprise. In an emotional surprise, the Anne Arundel County police orchestrated an incredible reunion that left one police officer in tears. Detective Walter Sweeney was reunited with the young boy he saved from near drowning 12 years prior, a moment he never expected to experience.

The incident took place on a scorching July day in 2011 when Sweeney responded to a distress call about a drowning. Arriving at the scene, he found an unconscious infant who had been pulled from a swimming pool. With each passing moment, the child's condition worsened, but without hesitation, Sweeney sprang into action, performing CPR in a race against time to save the child's life.

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“He was blue and his fingertips were blue and his lips were blue, and I gave him a couple of smacks on the back, and actually, before I could even start CPR, I gave him some chest compressions. Before I even got mouth to mouth, he started spitting up some of the water and breathing again, and the color started coming back,” Sweeney explained.

Sweeney’s urgent effort to save the child’s life paid off. Then 14-month-old Matthew lived and recovered to share his amazing story of survival and hail the bravery of his savior.

After Matthew recovered, he posed for a picture with Detective Sweeney but they had not seen each other since.

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“They just told me that I fell in the pool and he gave me CPR, and after a couple of weeks, we went to go meet him. That’s all I heard,” Matthew said.

In a decade, a lot of events happened in Matthew and Sweeney’s lives but the single moment they shared together was exceptional and unforgettable.

It was sad that they did not have a chance to reconnect for twelve years but fate had its own way of reuniting them.

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Luckily, a social media post sparked their unexpected reunion. Matthew’s grandmother saw a post about Sweeney’s promotion and noticed that it was the detective who saved her grandson’s life 12 years ago.

This made her reach out to the Anne Arundel County police department and told them the story of Matthew and Detective Sweeney.

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After hearing their amazing story, the Anne Arundel County police arranged a surprise reunion that shocked Lieutenant Sweeney. After so many years, he could not believe that he would ever be reunited with a boy he saved from drowning a decade ago.

When Sweeney saw Matthew, the memories of their fateful encounter came flooding back. He was so happy and touched to see the little boy again who grew up to be a sweet, wonderful young man.

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“He said do you remember me? And he looks – you can see the picture. He looks exactly the same,” Lt. Sweeney recalled. “It was him, and I’m like I know exactly who you are. So, it was very exciting. A lot of emotions kind of hidden back of how this happened.”

Though Matthew had never seen Lt. Sweeney again after he nearly drowned, his family made sure he was never forgotten. His family was very thankful to the police officer up to this day for saving Matthew’s life.

“It means everything because, without him, I wouldn’t have (my son) now. We talk about it all the time and how grateful we are,” Matthew’s mother said.

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Like Sweeney, Matthew was happy and excited to meet his savior and get to know him more. “I think it’s great to meet the guy that saved my life after 12 years,” he said.

All Anne Arundel County police officers were also happy that the surprise reunion they arranged turned out to be a happy and heart-warming one. Not all police officers get to reunite with the people they save so they think Sweeney is very lucky to see Matthew again and find out how well he is doing.

Watch the incredible story here.