Aurora police officer honored for saving 7-year-old girl

A 12-year Aurora police veteran who saved the life of a 7-year-old girl who was a passenger in a vehicle that ended up in a Far West Side retention pond last summer was named "Police Officer of the Year" by the Exchange Club of Aurora.

Officer Dean Tucker was the first to arrive on the scene, and after seeing the girl bobbing in the water, he stripped off his duty gear and swam to her. When he reached the child, he kept her afloat by putting his arm around her.

During the ordeal, Tucker became extremely fatigued and called out to Aurora police officer David Bliss and a 28-year-old Montgomery man who were both on shore for assistance. The witness swam out to help Tucker, but the little girl refused to let go, so the man swam next to the pair.

In the meantime, Bliss waded out into the water up to his chest and pulled Tucker and the girl to dry land. The crash claimed the life of the girl's mother and brother.

Tucker was not able to attend the luncheon. The award was accepted on Tucker's behalf by his brother and sister.

"(It) makes me so very proud to be mayor of a city with a police department of this caliber," said Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner.

The keynote speaker was Kane County State's Attorney Joe McMahon. "To a police officer, when you show up, you've signaled to the public that you are ready and willing to protect and serve, ready and willing to solve a crime, ready and willing to save a life, and ready and willing to do so at great risk to yourself," McMahon said. "The four officers being honored today just 'showed up' and the extraordinary happened."

This year's nominees also included:

Officers Matthew Fichtel and Jeremyah Kelley for rescuing a 62-year-old man from his burning apartment in a downtown building in December 2014, and officer Ronald McNeff for his actions on three high-profile incidents that occurred over a three-day period, two of which were on the same shift; including saving the life of a suicidal woman and his efforts to resuscitate an 18-month-old baby who had just drowned in her backyard pool.

The luncheon was emceed by Aurora police Cmdr. Keith Cross who remembered his former colleague and friend, the late Cmdr. Joe Groom, with a moment of silence. Groom, who died unexpectedly last December, played an integral part in organizing numerous Officer of the Year luncheons in recent years.