SEATTLE — Seattle Police Officer Edward Grimmer will receive the prestigious Carnegie Medal for Heroism after rescuing a critically injured man from the path of an oncoming train near Pioneer Square in October 2024.

According to the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, Officer Grimmer, 34, risked his own life to save a 57-year-old man who had fallen about 25 feet from a bridge ledge during a mental health crisis. The man landed inches from active railroad tracks and was unable to move as a train approached at roughly 35 mph.

Despite the darkness and uncertainty about where the man had landed, Grimmer crossed two sets of tracks and located him lying on the gravel next to the middle set—directly in the train’s path. With moments to spare, Grimmer grabbed the man’s hooded sweatshirt and pulled him clear just as the train sped past, narrowly missing both of them.

The man sustained multiple serious injuries, including broken bones and facial trauma, and was transported to the hospital. Officer Grimmer remained unharmed.

Grimmer is one of 17 people across the U.S. and Canada to receive the Carnegie Medal this year, a recognition given to civilians who risk extraordinary danger to save others. Since its inception in 1904, the Carnegie Hero Fund has awarded the medal to more than 10,500 individuals.

The Seattle Police Foundation and SPD also honored Grimmer with the department’s Medal of Honor—the highest distinction for sworn and civilian employees.

“Officer Edward Grimmer’s actions were nothing short of heroic,” said West Precinct Commander Captain Robert Brown. “This recognition is well deserved.”

Source: Seattle Police Department