Clarkstown Cop Rescues 4-Year-Old At Pool Party

Clarkstown Police Officer Paul Munding is being praised all over social media for his quick thinking, off-duty rescue of a little girl struggling in a pool.

"She surely would have drowned," her mother said in a post extolling Munding.

The story came from Rockland Report, which posted it Sunday on Facebook. In it, Carly Shaffer describes a birthday party at which 4-year-old Ella did something unusual: let go of the ladder.

"From far away, in the noise and chaos of many kids happily playing and adults laughing and chatting, I heard her cry out," Shaffer wrote. "My heart was in my stomach as I was running to her, watching her bob up and down in the water, choking."

Munding got there first, diving in fully dressed.

A child quietly bobbing up and down, taking in water, is a real danger sign. Drowning is the second leading cause of accidental death among children 14 and younger, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 750 children drown each year, 375 of whom do so within 25 yards of a parent or adult.

Children can drown right in front of parents, as little as 10 feet away.

Drowning doesn't look like most people think it does. People can't simply stop drowning long enough to take in a breath of air, scream for help and telegraph their panic with a wave. The human body isn't built that way.

SEE: Drowning Doesn't Look Like Drowning: 5 Ways To Spot It, Save Life