Pair receive civilian bravery award for saving man from drowning in Vancouver marina

Two men have received the Award of Merit — the Vancouver Police Board’s highest award for civilian bravery — for saving the life of a stranger.

Gary Connell and Richard McDonald are being hailed as heroes and were honoured at the Vancouver Police Commendation Awards Thursday for saving a man’s life after he fell into the water unconscious at the marina at West 1st Avenue and Creekside Drive.

On the morning of May 11, 2023, Gary Connell was walking his dogs in the area.

“A couple fisherman are standing, pointing into the water here, so I walked down to see what they were pointing at,” Connell said.

“Out about maybe fifty feet or so, I thought it was a big seal lying in the water,” he said. “And then a wave came and up comes a red running shoe and I go, ‘Oh! It’s a person! We gotta do something!’ So I took most of my clothes off right there, climbed down, jumped in the water, and as I was swimming to him, there was bubbles. He was face down in the water, but there was bubbles.”

Connell began to pull the man back to shore. Richard McDonald was working at the marina that day and saw the commotion and jumped into the frigid water to help.

“I rolled him completely out of the water, and when he rolled over into prone position, all the water came out of his lungs,” McDonald said.

Paramedics arrived and treated the large gash on the back of the man’s head before taking him to hospital. McDonald says the man caught pneumonia from the incident — but things could have been much worse.

The pair say they were happy to help, jumping in without hesitation, and being honoured with the highest award for civilian bravery is a special touch to an already memorable day.
“Feels pretty good!” said Connell.

McDonald added, “I’m a recovering addict, juvenile delinquent, so it’s very special for me to have a cop shake my hand and say I did a good job.”