Procession Honors Officer Who Drowned Trying To Save Teen

A Massachusetts police officer who drowned trying to save a teenager at a pond was honored with a procession by his fellow officers Saturday morning.

The procession of police vehicles from across Massachusetts accompanied the body of Worcester Police Officer Enmanuel “Manny” Familia as it was taken from the UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester to the state medical examiner’s office in Westfield.

Worcester City Manager Edward Augustus, Jr. ordered flags at all municipal buildings and parks flown at half-staff Saturday.

The 38-year-old Familia was one of five officers who entered the water at Green Hill Park, the city's largest, on Friday afternoon to try and save a drowning teenager.

Familia and the 14-year-old teen were later located by divers and rushed to the hospital, where they were pronounced dead. The teen hasn't been identified by police.

Familia was a five-year police department veteran with a wife and two children.

“This is the type of person Manny was; someone who would lay down his life for someone else’s child,” Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty said Friday.

Police Chief Steven Sargent said Friday the city lost a hero.

“We will remember and honor his selfless devotion to Worcester and his ultimate sacrifice to save someone he didn’t know," he said.