Cop saves man from drowning and is now a hero

Six years ago Tom jumped into the Canal in Izegem to rescue an elderly man who had ended up in the water with his car. Tom Joye: “I didn’t feel it because of the adrenaline. It was difficult swimming with my shoes and clothes on, but I succeeded. All that mattered to me at that moment was to get that person out of the water. “

Today Tom is honored for this heroic act by the city council of Roeselare and the police zone RIHO. He has saved a human life but remains very sober about it. “I think every police officer or inspector or commissioner would have done the same. I think it’s kind of the nature of the job you do. It helps that you’re sporty, that you can swim better. But everyone at we would have done that.”

The man he retrieved from the water died a few years later. They never saw each other again. The medal gets a nice place at home.