
Pinellas County Sheriff Deputy Jill Constant normally spends her time on the water enforcing boating laws around Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater. Until, as reported by Inside The Star, "A few weeks ago when red tide levels were high, Deputy Jill Constant got a call from a woman who said there was something wrong with a manatee in the Intracoastal Waterway."
The Tampa area was dealing with elevated ride tide levels. Red tide acts as a neurotoxin in manatees, giving them seizures that can result in drowning. When the sheriffs arrived, the manatee was trying to beach itself on the rocks so it wouldn't drown. It refused to go underwater. That's when Deputy Constant went into action.
“We docked the boat, I took off my equipment, and got in. We stayed in the water for two hours holding its head up until it could be rescued.” After the manatee began to regain strength, that's when the deputy's own safety became an issue.

"At the beginning it was too exhausted, but after a while it had recovered its strength a little and it started thrashing. I thought I was going to drown – a martyr for the cause.”

The Manatee is a mammal that needs to come to the surface to breathe.
But do NOT attempt to do what Deputy Constant did. FWC states "Manatees are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, and the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act of 1978. It is illegal to feed, harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, annoy, or molest manatees." You can’t feed them or even offer them a freshwater hose from your dock. Anything that interferes with a manatee’s natural, wild behavior.
Pensacola Florida Sheriff Deputy Sucked Into Storm Drain And Pulled Under Highway 98
The Escambia County Sheriff Department has released body cam footage of Deputy Hollingsworth coming to the aid of a stranded motorist near Highway 98 which runs through Pensacola. This was during one of the many torrential rains we've seen across Florida lately. Not just in the panhandle, but down through Tampa and into Southwest Florida. We've all seen significant rain.
The Escambia County Sheriff's Department describes the event which happened on June 16th.
"Escambia County Deputy William Hollingsworth was on patrol and helping stranded motorists caught in rapidly rising waters. At one point, Deputy Hollingsworth exited his patrol car to approach a citizen who was trapped in these rising waters. As he approached, Deputy Hollingsworth witnessed the citizen go underwater and rushed to his aid without regard for his own safety. During the rescue attempt, both the citizen and Deputy Hollingsworth were sucked into a drainage pipe and were swept underneath the four-lane roadway of Hwy 98. They were submerged for approximately 30 seconds and traveled nearly 100 feet underwater. They eventually resurfaced on the other end of the roadway - lucky to be alive."
Pensacola has a LOT of rain last weekend, but c'mon. You'd never expect to sucked down into a storm drain. But to come out alive? Even more remarkable. The Sheriff does an intro, the body cam footage starts at around 1 minute.
Insane
How are they still alive?
They were submerged for about 30 seconds and traveled nearly 100 feet. I understand how the man was praying when he popped out on the other side. Also, thanks to Sheriff Chip Simmons I now know how to properly pronounce "Escambia."