CLEARWATER, Florida — Clearwater Police Officer Andrew Billups was honored after officials credited him with two lifesaving responses that happened about 10 weeks apart, according to AOL’s publication of FOX 13 Tampa Bay reporting.

The report said the Rotary Club of Clearwater presented Billups with the 49th Annual Joseph F. Cornelius Family Foundation Outstanding Police Officer of the Year Award during a Wednesday luncheon.

A beach rescue and a crisis call

According to the report, one of the incidents involved an 8-year-old nonverbal girl with autism who became separated from her family at Clearwater Beach. The report said she did not know how to swim, and Billups found her and brought her to safety.

AOL/FOX 13 reported that body-camera footage from the beach response showed Billups calmly talking with the child as he climbed down onto rocks to help her.

The report said Billups later responded to the Memorial Causeway Bridge for a call involving a woman in crisis. Clearwater Police Chief Eric Gandy said Billups used his training to build trust with the woman and eventually talked her down from the ledge.

“In both incidents, Officer Billups showed an amazing, calm professionalism, and most of all, compassion,” Gandy said, according to the report.

Why the recognition matters

For Support Law Enforcement readers, the Clearwater story highlights two very different sides of police work: a fast-moving search for a missing child near water, and the slower, careful communication needed when someone is in crisis.

Billups told FOX 13 that the calls required a balance between being assertive enough to prevent tragedy and calm enough to get the right outcome. After the recognition, he said he did not expect the award and planned to continue serving the same way.

The Rotary Club also honored other public-safety personnel at the luncheon, including Clearwater Police Cpl. Eric Mitchell for community outreach and Clearwater Fire & Rescue Lt. Chris Quinn for training and mentoring, according to the report.

Sources reviewed

Editorial note: ThinBlueNews used the source article’s award photo and published facts with attribution. The article keeps the child and crisis-call details minimal, does not name private victims, and does not recreate a rescue or crisis scene with AI imagery.