Officer Eric Mumaw was always smiling, said Sgt. Robert Weaver.

“He just enjoyed what we do,” Weaver said.

Weaver told reporters a story about Mumaw, an officer with the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department who was in Weaver’s wedding: Mumaw once took notice of a man on several calls, and knew he was a person who “needed just a little bit of help,” Weaver said.

So Mumaw went to a fast-food restaurant one night, bought the man a meal and took it to him. He was appreciative that the man wasn’t out “causing trouble,” Weaver said during a news conference that was posted to the Tennessean’s website.

“He was the epitome of a community police officer,” Weaver said.

Mumaw was one of the officers who responded to a Cumberland River boat dock early Thursday morning, according to the department. He rushed to try to save a suicidal woman. The woman and another officer who went into the water survived the incident.

Mumaw did not.

“I know he died doing what he loves. He loved his midnight shift and he gave his life,” Police Chief Steve Anderson said, according to the Tennessean. “I know his whole detail is over there. They’re grieving. They’re going to miss him.”

About 4:19 a.m., emergency dispatchers received a call from a family member of a woman, who said she was suicidal and was in a car at a boat dock in a park, Metro police spokesman Don Aaron said. Officers, including Mumaw, responded to the scene, arriving within five minutes of the call.

They found a woman in a car at the water’s edge on the boat ramp, Aaron said. The officers tried to talk to her, with one officer on the passenger side of the vehicle, and Mumaw on the other side.

“At one point, they thought that she was going to actually come out of the car and go with the officers,” Aaron told reporters. “The door, the driver’s door, actually opened. As the driver’s door opened, the car went out of park and into the water.”

The officer on the passenger side of the car went into the water, as did Mumaw, on the driver’s side, in an attempt to save the woman. The boat ramp ended abruptly, something the officers couldn’t see. They lost their balance and were swept out into the river.

One officer was able to come back to the river bank, Aaron said. That officer at one point tried to grab Mumaw while they were in the water, but lost his grip. A third officer at the scene ran through the woods, and spotted the top of Mumaw’s head, Aaron said. He dove into the frigid water, but couldn’t get to Mumaw.

“These officers were here this morning to save a life,” Aaron said. “And Officer Mumaw died, truly, trying to save the life of someone else.”

Mumaw’s body was located about “70 yards or so” from the boat ramp, Aaron said.

The woman who the officers were trying to save stayed in the vehicle as it submerged, Aaron said. However, she apparently got out and was able to get to the bank, where authorities later located her.

She was taken to a medical center, and was being detained.

“She is under investigation at this point,” Aaron said. “We will have officers dealing with her this morning. And it will be premature for me to say specifically what will happen to her later today.”

In a tweet posted on Metro Nashville Police Department feed, Mumaw was described as an 18-year member of the department who “gave his life this morning in service to Nashville.” He was 44.

Weaver, the sergeant, described Mumaw as a dedicated officer who loved the city he had adopted. An Ohio transplant, Mumaw loved the Buckeyes (“The Ohio State, as he reminded us,” Weaver said), and had spent time training officers. He liked working the midnight shift, Weaver said, long after others had given it up.

“Those of us that knew him, knew him well,” Weaver said, “we have a huge hole in our hearts today.”

Read more at The Washington Post.

Emergency workers search for Officer Eric Mumaw on the Cumberland River on Thursday. (Metro Nashville Police Department via AP)

Officer Eric Mumaw. (Metro Nashville Police Department via AP)

Emergency workers search for Officer Eric Mumaw on the Cumberland River on Thursday. (Metro Nashville Police Department via AP)