A firefighter and police officer were recently honored for going “above and beyond” their duties in aiding the community. Police Officer Jasper Mercure was lauded for his work to help the family of a child with Down syndrome in a story by WXYZ-TV, while Fire Medic James Zubor was honored with a proclamation from the City of Taylor for his efforts during the water rescue of an autistic teenager.

In a Channel 7 story by Christiana Ford, she noted that Christy Warren's 7-year-old son has Down syndrome and uses an iPad to communicate. Warren, who lives in Flat Rock, said the iPad was lost after a trip to a local auto parts store. She turned to Facebook in a post for help to find the lifeline, even offering a monetary reward for its recovery. To her good fortune, the post happened to catch the attention of Police Officer Mercure.

"I contacted my co-workers on my shift, asked them if they would like to help out and they were all more than willing to,” Mercure told Channel 7. "One of my siblings is disabled and I guess you can say I have a soft spot for people who are mentally and physically handicapped.”

According to Channel 7’s report, Mercure was able to gather around 15 coworkers, order it and in less than 24 hours, the Warrens had a new iPad in hand.

As the sixth officer in his family, Mercure told Channel 7 that helping people is just second nature. The selfless act has left the Warren family speechless. “I'm just still in awe that they did that for my child," Warren said. "Just pure gratitude that there are kind people out there that just see a kid that needs help and they just spring into action.”

Mayor Tim Woolley was so impressed with the effort that he addressed the entire shift staff days later. “I’ve always asked our officers to treat our residents with respect and dignity. But Jasper and the rest of them went above and beyond. This is truly special and I let them know it.”

Fire Medic Zubor’s story was a little different as he turned into a “dolphin” in an effort to save a teenage boy. He ended up being honored with a proclamation from the City of Taylor in early August for his efforts during the water rescue of an autistic teenager. The teen had wandered into a retention pond on Wayne County Community College’s Downriver campus.

The teen’s mother was on the shoreline and, concerned for his safety, called 9-1-1. Both the mother and the paramedics responding could not coax the teen out of the water, which had a depth of about 10 feet.

Fire Medic Zubor entered the water and swam to the teen and again attempted to talk him into returning to the shore. By this time, the boy had been in the water for over two hours, so Zubor decided to turn into a superhero and offer the teen a piggyback ride.

He told the teen he could have a dolphin ride back to shore, telling the teen that all he had to do was get on his back.

The teenager ended up back on the shoreline, thanks to Zubor the Dolphin, safe and sound and reunited with his mother. “Fire Medic Zubor’s heroic behavior and quick-thinking went well beyond the usual efforts of any firefighter,” Mayor Woolley said.


NOTE: Jasper Mercure-related photos courtesy of WXYZ-TV Channel 7.