Arrested Teen Risks Own Safety to Help Save Officer's Life
No get out of jail free card for the juvenile, but he is being honored by the city next week.
17-year-old Jamal Rutledge was being booked in a Fort Lauderdale police station in September when he saw the cop processing his paper collapse. No other cops were present to see the cop collapse, and Rutledge started banging on the security door to get the attention of the cops. It's a good thing he put the cop's health over his own safety that day—he could have been worried cops would misinterpret his attempts to get their attention as violent gestures, or assume he caused the officer's collapse. One of the criticisms of police in questionable shootings is the amount of time it often takes for medical assistance to arrive. Cops put their safety first.
What happened was caught on surveillance video:
Because he's a minor, it's unclear what Rutledge had been arrested for but police, who say they've grown fond of him, also say he's been arrested multiple times since then. Nevertheless, Rutledge will join several of the responding officers to be honored for their life-saving actions at a city ceremony next week.
