Tragedy struck the Statesboro community when 4-year-old Mariah Jackson lost her life in a swimming pool accident in April.
SPD Officer Arion Waters was one of the first responders on scene. He describes responding to the accident by muscle memory; he jumped into action and started CPR as he awaited EMS arrival. This was the first child related incident Officer Waters had responded to.
“There’s a lot of innocence when it comes to children,” Officer Waters said, “It was a life changing event for me, and as a father, I can’t imagine the impact it had on her family.”
Officer Waters and other members of the Statesboro Police Department wanted to think of a way to make a positive impact on the community to honor Mariah and prevent further tragedies.
After talking it over with SPD Chief Mike Broadhead, the idea for Mariah’s Water Safety Day took off. It started out as just swim lessons, but quickly evolved into a community day.
“If one child out of the children signed up has their life saved because they attended the class, I’ll look at it as a job well done.” Officer Waters stated.
Even though the lessons are for children ages 3-12, parents will learn about the dangers of large bodies of water and other water safety tips. The cap for the class is 150, and they are currently shy of 100 children so far.
Each child will take part in an hour long water safety course with lifeguards and swim instructors present thanks to Splash in the Boro and will be allowed to swim afterwards. Statesboro Police Department will be in attendance as well.
There will be food and refreshments for the children provided by Feed the Boro and other local organizations.
“Police are powerless without the backing of the community,” Officer Waters stated, “Having us there alongside the community and working on building a bond help us do a better job in the future.”
Swimwear donations needed
Statesboro Police Department also has a donation bin in their lobby for goggles, swimsuits that are not blue, and U.S. Coast Guard approved life jackets.
Mariah’s Water Safety Day will take place on July 7th at the Luetta Moore Park pool, located at 585 Martin Luther King Jr Drive in Statesboro from 10:00AM-5:30PM. It is a free event, and parents and children are welcome to sign up. To register, children must be between the ages of 3-12, and a resident of Bulloch County. Parents are required to attend with their child.
Officer Waters sends his thanks to the community in their support of the event, as well as the administration at Statesboro Police Department and Splash in the Boro for making Mariah’s Water Safety Day possible.
