On October 16, 2020. All National City Police Cpl. Javier Cornejo saw was an arm. The rest of the man's body was underwater. The man had fallen off a personal watercraft in San Diego Bay along the National City Marine Terminal. A panicked 9-1-1 caller said it looked as though the man was drowning. Cornejo, a 15-year veteran of the National City Police Department, was patrolling the area near the city's waterfront when the call was dispatched. He was the first officer to find the man. An employee of nearby automotive shop had thrown the man a rope but he was struggling to hold on in choppy waters underneath a dock. Corporal Cornejo knew he had to act quickly. He stripped off his duty belt, vest, shirt and boots — "It's the fastest thing I've ever done," he later recalled. He then jumped in the water without even thinking. Corporal Cornejo swam a short distance to the man whose life vest was slipping off. The man grabbed onto the corporal, unintentionally pulling him underwater in panic. Cornejo said he tried to calm him down. Arriving officers tried to calm him down, too. Corporal Daniel Scanlon threw the men in the water a police dog leash, which Cornejo and the man grabbed onto while Scanlon and other officers on the dock used the leash to keep Cornejo and the man afloat. The man, Corporal Cornejo said, was fatigued. "I could see fear in his eyes, but at the same time comfort with all of the officers being there." More help soon arrived. An employee from a nearby watercraft rental company — who was alerted to the incident — pulled up on a Jet Ski. The employee and Cornejo tried to pull the man out from under the dock with a cord of sorts, but he let go. Harbor police officers Michael Sabbagh and Janel Seney arrived moments later on a boat. They pulled Cornejo and the man onto the vessel before docking at a nearby boat launching ramp. There, medics assessed the man before taking him to a hospital for an evaluation. He was conscious and breathing. Corporal Cornejo said the man thanked him and shook his hand before they parted ways. In an interview, Corporal Cornejo didn't take all of the credit for the rescue. "If it wasn't for everybody there, I think things would have been different," he said, highlighting the teamwork his fellow officers on both the National City and Harbor police departments. "It sounds cliché, but we're there to help people," he added.