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Drowning Toddler, Life-Saving Officer Reunited 12 Years After Miraculous Save In Severn

Reunited, and it feels so good.

Then and now...

Then and now...

Photo Credit: Anne Arundel County Police Department
The pair were brought back together again.

The pair were brought back together again.

Photo Credit: Anne Arundel County Police Department
The pair were brought back together again.

The pair were brought back together again.

Photo Credit: Anne Arundel County Police Department
Sweeney and Matthew

Sweeney and Matthew

Photo Credit: Anne Arundel County Police Department

There was a heart-warming reunion at the Anne Arundel Police Department on Wednesday morning as a life-saving member of the agency was given the surprise of two lifetimes.

It was a hazy summer day in July 2011 when then Anne Arundel County Police Det. Walter Sweeney was called to a Severn home for a reported drowning involving a toddler who had fallen into a pool and found himself in the most perilous of positions.

When he arrived, Sweeney found 14-month-old Matthew, who was lifeless, with his situation looking more dire by the second.

Without hesitation, the former detective leapt into action to alleviate the urgent situation, and was able to perform life-saving CPR to help ensure that Matthew survived until paramedics were able to arrive at the scene.

Fast forward 12 years.

On Wednesday, April 5, the now Lt. Sweeney and Matthew’s paths once again crossed, and the two were once again brought back together in an emotional reunion at police headquarters.

“It’s not often that officers get an opportunity to reconnect with people whose lives they’ve impacted,” a member of the department mused.

“Over a decade later both Mathew and (Lt.) Sweeney have experienced so many more moments in their lives, perhaps none more important than the one moment that they shared all those years ago." 

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