“We have awards and presentations tonight,” said Blaine City Council member Jess Robertson. “Recognizing incredible citizens that stand up and do things that a lot of people wouldn’t do under pressure.”
These courageous individuals were saluted for going above and beyond as they saved people in peril.
“It’s great that we recognize them,” said Blaine Police Officer Joe Gerhad. “We do it in a public forum and not just do it silently. That’s what makes it so great because it’s our officers that are doing it.”
One of the heroes is Mason Nordman – who saw potential trouble at his neighborhood pond and reacted quickly.
“You had an individual that noticed a child kind of wandering around the neighborhood and they just thought it was odd,” Gerhard said. “They kept tabs on him and called 911 and watched him walk into a nearby pond and were able to go out and rescue him.”
“Honestly I was just happy that I was in the right place at the right time,” Nordman said.
In April of 2024, Nordman was on the deck at his house in Blaine when he saw something unusual by the pond.
“There was a boy that was kind of walking back over here behind my fence and he didn’t have any shoes on,” Nordman said. “I tried to go up to him and talk to him and he wasn’t responding.”
“Split second decision”
Nordman and his neighbor called 911 and found out the boy was autistic and couldn’t communicate.
“He had started running kind of more this way and so I had chased him and he started going into a pond,” Nordman said. “He was knee-deep and I just pulled him back.”
Blaine Police were still minutes away, so Nordman’s quick thinking and fast response prevented a potentially tragic outcome.
“I certainly don’t want people to get involved in cases, or situations where they are at risk of harm,” Gerhard said. “Some people just want to do that. They want to act. Sometimes it’s not easy to stop yourself from doing that when sometimes it’s a split second decision that they make.”
Nordman is hoping people become more aware of kids who have autism and react accordingly if they see something that doesn’t look right.
“It is something that happens, so I want to make sure that people know that,” Nordman said. “The message here is if you can help out that’s important. Or even if you think that something might not be normal or maybe this isn’t ok. It’s better to call it in and make sure.”
Nordman is from Rochester, MN and moved to Blaine in 2020.
