• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Advertise
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Subscribe
American Police Beat

American Police Beat Magazine

Law Enforcement Publication

  • Home
  • Leadership
    • A candid chat with law enforcement Explorer scouts
      Do you know your emotional intelligence?
      Addressing racism in the workplace
      Supervisory actions: Deliberate style or weak skills?
      Are performance evaluations worth the effort?
  • Topics
    • Leadership
      • A candid chat with law enforcement Explorer scouts
        Do you know your emotional intelligence?
        Addressing racism in the workplace
        Supervisory actions: Deliberate style or weak skills?
        Are performance evaluations worth the effort?
    • Editor’s Picks
      • The future is here
        A winding road
        Do you know your emotional intelligence?
        Law enforcement responds to tragic Texas flooding
        “Hold my beer”
    • On the Job
      • Legacy never dies
        Into the abyss
        A winding road
        Law enforcement responds to tragic Texas flooding
        I brought home a dog
    • Labor
      • Differentiation in police recruitment
        Building positive media relations
        LEO labor and community outreach — make the haters scoff
        Racing with a purpose
        Dallas Police Department drops college requirement for police...
    • Tech
      • Cutting-edge police technology
        One step closer
        New Jersey school district first to adopt AI gun detection and...
        Hawaii police harness virtual reality technology to train, secure and...
        The future is here
    • Training
      • Mentorship: Ensuring future success
        Unlocking innovation
        Training dipshittery
        Police Academy 20
        Using critical thinking to crack the case
    • Policy
      • Consolidation in action
        California lawmakers push mask ban for officers, raising safety...
        Proactive policing: What it is and how to do it
        California makes police misconduct records publicly available
        A bold idea for reducing homelessness in America
    • Health/Wellness
      • Pink patches, powerful impact
        Time and distance
        Meditation is hard because it’s not what you think
        Life off the clock
        Self-help for anxiety
    • Community
      • Contradictory crossroads
        Back-to-school season brings out police support nationwide
        A bold idea for reducing homelessness in America
        Operation Brain Freeze keeps community cool
        Turning over a new leaf
    • Offbeat
      • Police humor only a cop would understand
        Not eggzactly a perfect heist
        Pizza … with a side of alligator?
        Wisconsin man charged with impersonating Border Patrol agent twice in...
        Only in California?
    • We Remember
      • York County ambush leaves three officers dead, others critically...
        Honoring the Fallen Heroes of 9/11
        Team Romeo
        National Police Week 2025
        Honoring Fallen Heroes
    • HOT Mail
      • The War on Cops Continues Unabated
  • On the Job
    • Legacy never dies
      Into the abyss
      A winding road
      Law enforcement responds to tragic Texas flooding
      I brought home a dog
  • Labor
    • Differentiation in police recruitment
      Building positive media relations
      LEO labor and community outreach — make the haters scoff
      Racing with a purpose
      Dallas Police Department drops college requirement for police...
  • Tech
    • Cutting-edge police technology
      One step closer
      New Jersey school district first to adopt AI gun detection and...
      Hawaii police harness virtual reality technology to train, secure and...
      The future is here
  • Training
    • Mentorship: Ensuring future success
      Unlocking innovation
      Training dipshittery
      Police Academy 20
      Using critical thinking to crack the case
  • Policy
    • Consolidation in action
      California lawmakers push mask ban for officers, raising safety...
      Proactive policing: What it is and how to do it
      California makes police misconduct records publicly available
      A bold idea for reducing homelessness in America
  • Health/Wellness
    • Pink patches, powerful impact
      Time and distance
      Meditation is hard because it’s not what you think
      Life off the clock
      Self-help for anxiety
  • Community
    • Contradictory crossroads
      Back-to-school season brings out police support nationwide
      A bold idea for reducing homelessness in America
      Operation Brain Freeze keeps community cool
      Turning over a new leaf
  • Offbeat
    • Police humor only a cop would understand
      Not eggzactly a perfect heist
      Pizza … with a side of alligator?
      Wisconsin man charged with impersonating Border Patrol agent twice in...
      Only in California?
  • We Remember
    • York County ambush leaves three officers dead, others critically...
      Honoring the Fallen Heroes of 9/11
      Team Romeo
      National Police Week 2025
      Honoring Fallen Heroes
  • HOT Mail
    • The War on Cops Continues Unabated
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
Search

On the Job

Atlanta police officer and fire rescue captain save trapped driver during flash flooding

APB Team Published September 21, 2023 @ 12:00 pm PDT

Atlanta P.D.

In the midst of a torrential downpour and flash flooding that inundated downtown Atlanta on September 14, two local first responders courageously rescued a trapped driver, saving the man’s life.

Atlanta Police Officer Rayando Bryan and Atlanta Fire Rescue Department Captain Terrance Simon are being celebrated by colleagues and the community for their swift response in the face of danger.

Officer Bryan, who was on duty at the time, came across a dire scene on Peachtree Street, just near Atlanta’s Public Safety Headquarters, where floodwaters had completely submerged the area.

There, he noticed a vehicle partially submerged, with Captain Simon valiantly attempting to rescue the trapped driver.

“So, initially, when I first saw the car, I was unaware that there was an occupant in there until I heard a person shouting. That’s when I figured out there was somebody in the car,” Bryan reflected.

Captain Simon said the floodwaters had already risen to dangerous levels in the midst of the response.

“We had been out there for a few minutes, and you have water that’s well over four-and-a-half feet, so you have to act quickly,” Captain Simon told FOX 5.

Due to the rising floodwaters, the vehicle was lifted from the ground, rendering its doors immovable. The water was so deep that the vehicle had started to float, and the front end was underwater.

Without hesitation, Officer Bryan waded into the treacherous waters to assist in the rescue operation.

According to police, they were able to move the vehicle to a shallower location to make the rescue.

“The water was actually up to my chest, and we were able to get the car to an area where the water was lower. So that gave us the ability to actually get our footing and mitigate it really fast,” Simon recalled.

Using his baton, Bryan shattered the driver-side window, creating an escape route for the stranded motorist. Together, the police officer and fire captain managed to pull the driver to safety.

Captain Simon recounted the dramatic moment.

“Well, just moments after the window was smashed, I think the primary goal was to just get the citizen out of the vehicle,” Simon explained. “He had already been overwhelmed by water that was inside the vehicle, and he had been in there for well over 12 minutes. And that’s a lot to deal with both physically and mentally.”

The rescued driver, Bernard Johnson, was grateful for the officers’ actions.

“I told them, ‘Thank you for everything, you saved me that day.’ I told him that specifically,” Johnson said.

The severe storm unleashed more than two inches of precipitation within the span of an hour, overwhelming downtown Atlanta, the Atlanta University Center and its surrounding areas.

According to FOX 5, the city experienced a whopping three hours’ worth of rain in just minutes, leading to the flash flooding conditions.

In several areas across Atlanta, water levels surged to five feet, affecting streets and low-lying areas.

Witnesses reported that several vehicles parked near Northside Drive SW and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive SW were washed away, eventually coming to a stop at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The storm also significantly impacted multiple students of Clark Atlanta University, flooding their rooms and forcing them to relocate.

Atlanta police noted that the city’s 9-1-1 call center was overwhelmed with weather-related emergency calls during the torrential rain, as the water began to rise rapidly.

In a Facebook post, the Atlanta Police Department commended the pairs’ heroic efforts.

“We are extremely proud of the actions of Atlanta Fire Rescue Captain Terrance Simon and Atlanta Police Officer Rayando Bryan. Their response to this critical incident is yet another example of the commitment our city has made to ensure competent, well-prepared, well-trained first responders are available when needed,” the department wrote.

Downtown Atlanta received two inches of rain in less than two hours, reports say.

Categories: On the Job Tags: Terrance Simon, fire department, hero, Atlanta Police Department, life saving, water rescue, flash flooding, trapped driver, torrential rain, Rayando Bryan

Primary Sidebar

Recent Articles

  • Police humor only a cop would understand
  • Contradictory crossroads
  • Cutting-edge police technology
  • Legacy never dies
  • One step closer
  • Mentorship: Ensuring future success
  • Differentiation in police recruitment
  • Unlocking innovation
  • Into the abyss
  • Back-to-school season brings out police support nationwide

Footer

Our Mission
To serve as a trusted voice of the nation’s law enforcement community, providing informative, entertaining and inspiring content on interesting and engaging topics affecting peace officers today.

Contact us: info@apbweb.com | (800) 234-0056.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Categories

  • Editor’s Picks
  • On the Job
  • Labor
  • Tech
  • Training
  • Policy
  • Health/Wellness
  • Community
  • Offbeat
  • We Remember
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Events

Editor’s Picks

The future is here

The future is here

August 21, 2025

A winding road

A winding road

August 20, 2025

Do you know your emotional intelligence?

Do you know your emotional intelligence?

August 17, 2025

Law enforcement responds to tragic Texas flooding

Law enforcement responds to tragic Texas flooding

August 11, 2025

Policies | Consent Preferences | Copyright © 2025 APB Media, LLC | Website design, development and maintenance by 911MEDIA

Open

Subscribe

Close

Receive the latest news and updates from American Police Beat directly to your inbox!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.