By Ruth Corley
Visibility wasn’t the best. Strong gusty winds and torrential rain driven by a tropical storm passing through Panama City Beach this June made answering to the scene of a traffic accident challenging. Once on scene on Philips Inlet Bridge, Bay County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Mike Morris never hesitated and left his patrol car, lights flashing, to speak with witnesses.
A man told Sgt. Morris that another man, on fire, had jumped from the bridge into Lake Powell. Another witness relayed watching a vehicle, with people inside, driving off the bridge into the lake. Sgt. Morris observed dark smoke just west of his location on the bridge, in the area of Walton County. Unsure exactly what had happened, Sgt. Morris grabbed his fins and rescue tube from his vehicle and entered the water to try and find whomever was in trouble.
Sgt. Morris swam under the bridge from the west end to Camp St. Helen, back to the middle of the bridge. Once there he spotted a head bobbing in the middle of Lake Powell and began to swim towards the person. At the same time a Bay County firefighter also on scene threw his rescue surfboard over the side and jumped in. The firefighter reached the injured man and loaded him up on the rescue board. With Sgt. Morris pushing the board, and the firefighter pulling the board in the high winds and currents, the men were able to get the injured man to shore.
The man was covered in third-degree burns. He was quickly loaded up in an ambulance and taken for medical care. As they pieced together details, they realized the injured man was wanted for several arson incidents in Walton County. Sgt. Morris rested a few moments in his vehicle as the rain pounded on the windshield. It was time to get back out on the road. Just another day for a BCSO deputy in the unincorporated parts of Panama City Beach.
Sgt. Mike Morris has worked at the Bay County Sheriff’s Office for nearly twelve years, answering calls for service from Hathaway Bridge to Camp St. Helen, and the sandy beaches in between.
“You have to be able to respond to different calls, all in the same day,” Sgt. Morris said. “From a neighborhood watch to a drowning to a battery call. You never know what will happen. I like the challenge.”
One of his most important jobs is making sure the right beach flag has been posted on the unincorporated beaches of Bay County. Warning anyone on the sand when currents and surf are dangerous is vital to the safety of visitors and locals alike. The worst conditions, the Double Red Flags, mean Gulf waters are closed, by county ordinance, to all swimmers. During Double Red Flags it is not only dangerous for the average beach-goer to enter Gulf waters, but trained rescue personnel as well.
Working a zone on Panama City Beach requires additional training. Sgt. Morris has been to the USLA Open Water class and the Red Cross Lifeguard classes. His job also requires he swim on his own time as much as possible, a discipline that could just save his life one day.
Like any other deputy at the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, Sgt. Morris sees himself as but one small piece in the grand scheme of things at the Bay County Sheriff’s Office. “I’m thankful for my job,” Sgt. Morris added. “And for all the other men and women who work at the Bay County’s Sheriff’s Office under the leadership of Sheriff Tommy Ford.”
