Acker presented Life Saving award

Rusk Police Sergeant Nathan Acker knows a thing or two about going above and beyond the call of duty.

In recognition of his heroism, Acker was recently awarded the Life Saving award for his efforts in assisting two Rusk residents who got trapped in the raging flood waters that washed through Rusk on Saturday, May 18.

“I’m very thankful for this recognition,” Acker said after receiving his honor. “It was very much a joint effort with the volunteers of the Rusk Volunteer Fire Department. If they hadn’t held on to that rope, I couldn’t have done what needed to be done.”

Two Rusk men were traveling in a compact sedan along Martin Luther King Boulevard in Rusk that night, when the deep and fast-flowing waters overtook the small car and washed it down the roadway – filling the inside rapidly.

“We had to get out,” driver Bruce Rivers said in his recollection of the incident, as recorded the following day by Rusk Police Department Detective Stephen Hughes.

Rivers recounted in the recording, “I pulled (the passenger) out of the car -- he’s got diabetes and his balance is bad – and the water just took us. It just lifted us off our feet and when we fell back, he was just gone. I was trying to find him again, but I never was able to come back into contact with him.

“When I went under all I could think of was ‘Lord, take me now if that’s what You want to do.’”

Both men were fortunate to be able to snag tree branches along the roadway before being swept further downstream or underwater.

Rivers shared, “I saw the red and blue lights and I knew somebody was coming.”

Acker was that someone. Video from his body camera shows Acker wading through the flood water, which was up to the license plate on the car. He retrieved a stout stick from the debris in the water to help him keep his balance as he traversed through the flood, in the dark, in the rain.

“I got to the car and just couldn’t go any further,” Acker said. “The water was moving that fast. I spotted (Rivers) but I never could see the second man. He was able to shake the branches he was holding onto, and that’s the only indication I had on his position. I just kept hollering to them to keep calm and hold on, that help was on the way.”

At one point during the rescue, Acker’s body cam went under water.

“And Nate’s a pretty tall ole boy,” Hughes is heard saying in the recording of Rivers’s account.

After finding the car, Acker stood in chest deep waters, calling out to the pair, trying to locate them in the dark. When he made contact with both men, he moved toward them, but could only go so far before the rapidly moving waters threatened to take his feet out from under him.

Acker called the Rusk Volunteer Fire Department at that point for assistance but stayed where he was and continued to call out assurances to the two, making sure they knew someone was still there.

“He’s just out there, literally standing in the water, leaning on a stick and hollering to us,” Rivers recalled. “Making sure we were alright. When I heard that voice, I knew we were saved.”

Acker continued shouting assurances to the pair, as he helped pull them from the drink, trying to keep their spirits up and panic from setting in. At one point in the body cam recording, Acker can be heard saying, as he helped pull one man onto high ground, “You’re not getting away from me – you’re the biggest fish I ever caught!”

The pair were able to be rescued after Acker and volunteer fire fighters, using ropes secured to the car, managed to pull them out of the water.

“I was so weak at that point,” Rivers admitted. “Fighting the water had made me so tired I couldn’t even make it on my own. Acker pulled me up on his own shoulders and carried me out again. Then he got (the second man) – I thought I’d lost him, I thought he drowned. But we made it.

“It was scary, very scary, very scary,” Rivers continued, voice cracking as he became emotional. “I’ve never had anything like that happen to me and I hope I never do again. We’re were lucky, for sure.

“I just thank him so much. I’m glad to be here, and I wouldn’t be if not for (Acker) and the others.”

RPD Chief Joe Williams presented Acker with the Life Saving award and medal during the Rusk Council meeting held Thursday, June 13.

“A lot of times no one ever knows what these guys do on a daily basis,” Chief Williams said. “I want everyone to know about this.”

In a statement written for the ceremony, Williams reported, “The water depth in places exceeded seven feet. Sgt. Acker, as well as the members of the Rusk Volunteer Fire Department, should be commended for their selfless actions in order to save others.

“A side note – an important side note – that shows the caliber of man Sgt. Acker is: This rescue call came in AFTER Sgt. Acker was made aware that his own home had suffered significant flood damage. Acker made sure his family was safe and continued with his duties. Later we found out that the Acker family had lost most of their own belongings and have been forced to move to a new residence.

“He had brought great distinction upon himself, the Rusk Police Department and the law enforcement profession. Job well done!”

Mayor Angela Raiborn added during Thursday’s meeting, “We are a very blessed community to have so many come together to help during times of emergency.”