CLEVELAND — Two Cleveland police officers have been honored after body-camera video showed the lifesaving response that followed a 9-year-old boy being pulled unconscious from a pool last year, according to WJW-TV Cleveland reporting carried by MSN.

The station reported that Officers Jonathan Selleny and Kevin Nguyen were recently awarded the department’s distinguished service medal for their actions after the child was pulled from the pool at the Lonnie Burten Recreation Center.

According to the report, the child was unconscious when officers arrived. Selleny and Nguyen helped keep the rescue effort going by alternating CPR until the boy could receive further medical care.

Police said the child later regained consciousness at the hospital, WJW/FOX 8 reported.

Children acted before police arrived

The rescue did not begin with the officers. WJW also noted that three neighborhood children — identified in the report as Cameron Swann, Kirvon Johnson and Kesean Wilson — had previously been recognized for jumping into action and getting the 9-year-old out of the water before police arrived.

That detail matters. Public-safety stories often include more than one kind of courage: quick-thinking kids who act before help arrives, officers who take over when seconds count, and medical teams who continue the work after the scene clears.

Why this story matters

For ThinBlueNews readers, the Cleveland case is a reminder that some of the most important police work happens in moments that are not about arrests or headlines. It happens when an officer drops to a knee, starts compressions, and keeps going because a child’s life may depend on it.

The officers’ medals recognize a response that WJW described as lifesaving. Just as importantly, the story also recognizes the children who acted first and helped give that 9-year-old a chance.

No public-safety agency can be everywhere at once. But when neighbors, children, officers and medical responders each do their part, the outcome can change in a matter of minutes.

Sources and attribution

  • WJW-TV Cleveland/FOX 8 reporting reported the officers’ names, medal recognition, pool-rescue timeline, and the names of the three children previously recognized.
  • The featured image is an original ThinBlueNews editorial graphic. It is not an incident photo and does not imply a specific body-camera frame.