John Lallas was honored as Police Officer of the Year at the Bothell American Legion annual First Responder Banquet on Jan. 11.

Lallas has been in law enforcement for four years and has been a member of the Bothell Police Department (BPD) for the past year.

On May 14, 2016, while on patrol, he was dispatched to a vehicle accident in Bothell at 100th Avenue NE at NE 145th Street, where an SUV went into a water retention pond. The injured passenger told the officer the driver was trapped and unable to exit the vehicle.

The water was deep enough that Lallas had to swim to the vehicle. He was able to force open the door, cut away the deployed air bag and remove the driver.

The Uber driver that was trapped sent an email to BPD Chief Carol Cummings that read, “Without regard for his own safety, he dove into the pond and swam to my vehicle. He cut my side air bag free and struggled to get the door open. He eventually was able to help free me and saw that I got to shore safely. I can tell you without a doubt that night I might have drowned without his quick actions.”

This is taken from a Bothell American Legion press release.