SPD officer honored for saving man from oncoming train

A Seattle police officer is being recognized for his heroic actions that saved a man’s life last fall.

Seattle Police Department (SPD) Officer Edward K. Grimmer has been awarded the Carnegie Medal for Heroism after rescuing a 57-year-old man who had fallen onto train tracks.

According to police, officers attempted to talk the man down from a ledge above the tracks when he suddenly fell 25 feet, landing directly in the path of an approaching train.

Grimmer rushed to the tracks and pulled the man to safety. The train narrowly missed the man’s legs and Grimmer’s head.

SPD officer honored with Carnegie Medal

The Carnegie Medal is awarded throughout the U.S. and Canada to civilians who risk their lives to save others. In addition to the national honor, the Seattle Police Foundation and Seattle Police Department also presented Grimmer with the department’s Medal of Honor—the highest distinction awarded to sworn and civilian employees.

Officers respond to report of man in mental health crisis

According to SPD’s blotter, officers responded to reports of a man in a mental health crisis on Oct. 7, 2024.  He was sitting on a ledge high above the train tracks near the Second Ave. exit and E. Jackson Street. Officers immediately began speaking with the man, hoping to coax him back to safety.

Despite police dispatch’s efforts to halt inbound trains, one was already approaching.

With the train rapidly closing in, officers on the lower platform sprang into action. They ran across the tracks to reach the injured man. One officer managed to drag the man to safety with only seconds to spare before the train passed.

The man broke both arms and one leg. He also suffered facial and spinal fractures.

Grimmer was not injured.

According to the blotter post, West Precinct Commander, Captain Robert Brown, said the award “is well deserved by Officer Edward Grimmer for his selfless and heroic life-saving actions.”

Frank Lenzi is the News Director for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here.

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