SOUTHLAKE, Texas — A Southlake police corporal has received the department’s Meritorious Conduct Award after pulling a driver from a burning car during a traffic stop on State Highway 114.
The Southlake Department of Public Safety said Cpl. Joshua Swisher was conducting a traffic stop along westbound SH 114 on June 7 when dispatch alerted him to a nearby vehicle producing heavy smoke. Swisher helped direct the vehicle onto the shoulder before the emergency escalated.
Dash camera records the roadside rescue
Department dash-camera footage published with the official account shows smoke surrounding the vehicle on the highway shoulder as Swisher approaches the driver’s side. According to Southlake DPS and FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth’s July 16 report, flames erupted from beneath the car after it stopped.
Swisher broke the driver’s window and pulled the driver to safety. The public reports said the driver escaped without serious injuries.
ThinBlueNews is not publishing the driver’s identity or adding a cause for the fire because those details were not included in the official account reviewed for this report.
Meritorious Conduct Award recognizes quick action
The Southlake Police Department presented Swisher with its Meritorious Conduct Award. FOX 4 reported that the award is the department’s second-highest honor.
The recognition centers on a fast transition from routine traffic enforcement to emergency rescue. Swisher first helped get the smoking vehicle out of active traffic, then moved toward the danger when the driver could not get clear of the burning car.
The official footage provides a direct public record of the response without requiring unrelated or synthetic incident imagery. The featured image above is a true frame from that footage, not a recreation.
Sources and image attribution
- Southlake DPS: “Heroism on the Highway,” published July 15, 2026.
- FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth: “Southlake police officer saves driver from burning car during traffic stop,” published July 16, 2026.
- WFAA: “Southlake officer honored after rescuing driver from burning vehicle during traffic stop,” published July 15, 2026.
Featured-image note: The image is a Southlake Police dash-camera frame from the June 7 rescue, distributed by the department and published by FOX 4. ThinBlueNews resized the frame for its article layout without adding or removing incident content.
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