Policeman lauded as hero after he rescues 2 teens caught in a raging river

A Georgia police officer is a hero after saving two teenagers from a raging river last week.

What are the details?

Canton Police Officer Luis Salas received a call about two teens in need of rescue at Etowah River Park.

Salas, who is also a U.S. Marine Corps vet, saw the two teens submerged in the raging river while clinging for life to a nearby tree branch.

"I took off my gear, took my belt off quickly, and my vest off," he said. "So I immediately get in the water and swim my way down that way until I finally catch up to them."

Salas said that he calmly told the two teens who he was and what he aimed to do: Save their lives.

"I need y'all to trust me with your lives," he recalled telling the teens. "Please just trust me and calm down, for we can get out of this, all three of us alive, and go home."

Salas said that one of the teens did not know how to swim.

"The female, the juvenile female, told me she cannot swim to save her life, that she's scared," Salas said. "So I told her to calm down, hold on to me, and I'll get us all to safety."

What happened next?

Backup arrived shortly after Salas began his valiant rescue and helped tow Salas and the teens from the swollen river. The teens were sent to a hospital for observation, but were later released to their homes in good condition.

"I've been in the Marine Corps so I have taken swimming qualifications many times, and it's always been in cold water," he said. "Always. It's never been warm."

On Monday, the department requested its Facebook followers to issue a great, big "thank you" to Salas for his heroic deeds.