Undercover Macomb County deputy saves drowning suspect after pursuit

FOX 2 - An undercover Macomb County Sheriff's Deputy jumped into action to save the suspect from drowning.

The wild police chase started on a moped in Mount Clemens and ended in the Clinton River Wednesday night.

The suspect was a 60-year-old man on a moped, suspected of buying drugs. Deputies for the sheriff's enforcement team were conducting narcotics surveillance and spotted him and he took off.

Dashcam video shows the suspect jumping a curb at MacArthur Park and he didn't stop there.

"He laid down the motor scooter and decided to evade the deputies by jumping into the Clinton River," said Macomb County Sheriff Anthony Wickersham. "

The suspect, Marlon El, was trying to swim across the Clinton River. Deputies went to the other side to meet him, but that was when they spotted him struggling. He couldn't swim and was in trouble.

An undercover sergeant handed over his guns and stripped off his shirt and jumped in after him. His head was slipping underwater. The sergeant grabbed him and pulled him to safety.

"This could have been a deadly situation had he gone under," Wickersham said. "They knew what they had to do to help this guy out."

Wickersham said this is likely not what the officers conducting the investigation thought they would be doing, but all in a day's work.

"I'm proud, this is what the men and women of the Macomb County Sheriff's Office does on a daily basis," Wickersham said. "He didn't hesitate or think, he saw the man in trouble thought he had to do something about it - and that's what he did. If somebody is in danger they are going to jump in and save their life."

El was medically cleared and is being held in jail. His charges will now include fleeing and eluding police.

Suspect Marlon El.