SHREWSBURY, Mass. - A Shrewsbury man who was rescued after sinking deep into a muddy pond earlier this year is sharing his story and thanking the officers who saved his life. 

Those officers, Alex Desimone, Dillon Zona Tyler Vlass and Sgt. Mark Sklut, were honored at a ceremony on Wednesday with Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early. 

24-year-old Justin Schmautz was visiting Flint Pond in Shrewsbury on February 13 to use his remote control boats, but they eventually got stuck and he couldn't free them. He tried throwing a few pieces of wood down over the muck so he could walk over it, but underestimated how dangerous things were about to get. 

“I got out there about five feet or so and I was up to my knees already, and it was so cold that day it was like 30 degrees or so, and the windchill was unbelievable," Schmautz said. "The muck, the grime and everything that was in there, it was just a very terrible experience and I sunk up to my neck by the time everybody got there.”

He yelled for his girlfriend to call the police so they could come get him, and fortunately they arrived within 10 minutes. Shrewsbury officers who responded to the call that day did their best to prepare for what awaited them. 

“I didn’t know what to expect entirely, and then we saw the victim in the mud and all I could see was his head and part of his shoulders," said Sklut. "We realized it was serious what was going on and we had to act quickly."

When Vlass arrived, one of his fellow officers, Desimone, was already 35 feet out in the mud. He was trying to throw a device called a ResQ disc towards Schmautz to pull him back to safety. 

“We told Justin to basically hold on, we wrapped it around a tree, and basically used our leverage to pull it in to kind of ground him and pull him to safety as he got close," Vlass said.

Early presented the officers with the T.E.A.M. Award, which recognizes first responders show outstanding coordination and teamwork in an emergency situation. 

“This is why we call it the T.E.A.M. Award, it’s about working collectively, it’s about working together," Early said. "The training kicks in, you go through an incredible amount of training, and it just makes you better.”

“Having the district attorney here, having the chief, having a lot of members from the department, it’s always nice to get recognized, but it’s not what we do the job for," said Zona. 

The day after the incident, officers received some recognition from Schmautz as well. He came down to the Shrewsbury Police Department to thank them. 

“They’re just an unbelievable team, the dream team, I call them," Schmautz said. "They’re extremely nice police officers, if you’re ever in trouble or need help, don’t be afraid to call. They’re not going to embarrass you, they’ll always be there for you. It’s a great town to live in."