Stone mason-turned-cop steps in to save the life of toddler trapped under 400-pound rock

A New Hampshire cop — who is also a former stone mason — was one of the first to arrive on the scene of a Friday accident involving a very large rock and a very small child. And he saved the young boy's life.

What are the details?

Portsmouth Police Officer T.J. Potter saved the life of a 2-year-old after a child playing on a pile of large stones became trapped beneath one of them.

According to NH News Network, the child had been playing on top of the rock pile while his nearby grandfather supervised. While the child played, one of the stones in the pile dislodged, and the child pitched forward. The stone he had been standing on was now on top of his head, trapping the child in the pile, according to NH1 News Network.

The rock pile was to be used for a seawall that's currently under construction, according to the outlet.

“He didn’t look good. I was really worried at first,” Potter said, according to WBZ-TV.

According to WMUR-TV, Potter added, "I could see [the child] was moving a little bit, but we just didn't know the degree of stress he was in at the time."

Potter said he saw one stone in particular that was close to giving way, which would crush the young boy's head if it were to do so, according to WBZ.

“We didn’t think we had a lot of time to really think too much about it," Potter added. "We needed to act."

And act he did.

What did he do?

According to WBZ, Potter took charge of the situation and instructed first responders in very carefully extricating the child from beneath the rock.

"I just recognized that stone. I moved them a hundred times before with my last profession. And we just gathered together," Potter said, according to WMUR.

The child was freed, and taken to a local hospital for treatment of his injuries. WBZ reports that the child was later released and is recovering at home.

NH1 News Network reported that it "only took nine minutes" from the time that the emergency call was placed for first responders to arrive and free the child.