Wagoner Deputy Saves Child From Drowning: 'This Is Why We Do The Job'

Body camera video shows a Wagoner County Deputy saving a 2-year-old girl when she nearly drowned in Fort Gibson Lake.

Deputies said this is an important reminder for parents to take the proper precautions with their kids around the water. Deputy Micheal King said he got to the water in just minutes. He said instincts kicked in and he knew exactly what to do.

Related Story: Body Camera Video Shows Wagoner County Deputy Saving Life Of 2-Year-Old

Within two minutes of getting a call of a near-drowning, Deputy Micheal King was on scene at Fort Gibson Lake. He rushed in and immediately started rescuing the toddler.

"With each blow to the back, she would spit up some water and vomit," said King.

Deputy King said he did back pats since the little girl had swallowed water.

“Honey come back," someone said in the video. "Breathe baby, breathe.”

Eventually, the little girl started breathing normally, and paramedics flew her to a hospital. The toddler is now doing okay, and Deputy King said it was the first time he's ever rescued a child like this.

"I think it was just at the right place at the right time, especially since she was unconscious," King said.

King said just an hour before that he was swimming in the pool with his four-year-old son, and said a child drowning was unimaginable for him.

Deputies said the parents were passing the toddler back and forth in the water without a life vest to teach her to swim and turned away for just a bit when the girl went underwater.

"This is why we do the job," he said. "We do it to try to help people -- try to save people."

The sheriff’s office wants to remind parents to keep a close eye on their kids this holiday weekend and make sure they’re wearing a life vest.