FREDERICKSBURG, Virginia — A riverbank patrol turned into a water rescue after Fredericksburg police officers heard screams that someone was drowning in the Rappahannock River.
The Fredericksburg Police Department said Officer Farino entered the water while other officers moved in to help. The team brought the swimmer safely back to shore.
Watch the official body-camera video
Video source: Fredericksburg Police Department. Watch the official video on Facebook if the embedded player does not load.
Patrol changes course when officers hear cries for help
The department said the rescue unfolded Sunday, July 26, while Officers Farino, A. Hernandez-Rios and Simpkins were patrolling the riverbank and issuing summonses for alcohol violations. During that enforcement work, they heard people screaming that someone was in trouble in the river.
Officer Farino entered the water without delay, according to the department. The short official video shows uniformed officers moving down the bank, one officer entering the river and others converging at the water's edge as the rescue develops.
A local report from Fredericksburg Patch, citing the department, identified the waterway as the Rappahannock River and reported that additional officers assisted in getting the swimmer back to shore.
Teamwork brings the swimmer ashore
The department credited the officers' quick response and teamwork for the safe outcome. The swimmer's identity was not released, and the public source package reviewed by ThinBlueNews did not provide additional medical information.
The body-camera recording is approximately 20 seconds long. It documents the active response from the riverbank, but it does not provide a complete timeline of the emergency. ThinBlueNews is not adding details about what happened before officers heard the screams or about the swimmer's condition beyond the department's statement that the person was brought safely to shore.
Readers can find more source-backed public-safety work in ThinBlueNews' police rescue news, police hero stories and latest news.
Sources, video and image attribution
- Fredericksburg Police Department — official public post and body-camera video describing the July 26 rescue.
- Fredericksburg Patch — “WATCH: Officers Rescue Drowning Swimmer During Riverbank Patrol In Fredericksburg,” published July 27, 2026.
Featured-image note: The image is a true frame from the Fredericksburg Police Department's official body-camera video, not a recreation or unrelated representative image. ThinBlueNews cropped the frame to 1200 × 630 without adding or removing incident content.
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