Christopher Jones walked into the Columbus Police Academy on Friday and tapped an officer on the shoulder.
Since Jones was 5 years old, he has never forgotten the name of Officer James Poole.
“Do you remember me?” Jones asked Poole.
Poole shook Jones’ hand and looked at him politely, but didn’t recognize him. Jones quickly refreshed his memory.
“About 1997, you pulled a 5-year-old out of a swimming pool, saved his life,” Jones said.
The realization washed over Poole, who stood up and wrapped his arms around Jones, now a 24-year-old man who nearly drowned those many years ago.
Friday’s reunion at the academy on the West Side came about after Jones saw a photo posted last month on the Columbus Division of Police Facebook page. In it, Officer Poole was attending a back-to-school gathering at a South Side church.
Jones knew that an Officer Poole had saved his life, so he commented on the post, asking whether it might be the same officer.
Soon, Jones, of New Albany, was contacted by the Police Division to organize a surprise reunion with the officer.
So as Poole sat on a couch in the Police Academy lobby Friday afternoon, ready with notes for what he thought would be a discussion with the media about his role as a community liaison officer, Jones was outside waiting to walk in and greet the officer.
After Jones arrived, Poole quickly realized that his notes weren’t necessary and that he’d been summoned for another reason.
“I never thought that something I would do 19, 20 years later would come back, and somebody would thank me,” Poole, 43, said.
HT: Daily Timewaster