When asked what it was like to be rescued from a flooded GO train during last week’s epic storm, “Nick” had nothing but praise for Toronto’s men in blue.

Wrapped in a bright orange towel, Nick smiled often, cheerfully describing his heroic rescue during a two-minute TV news interview. The water just “sort of snuck up,” he told the reporter. “I’m just glad that one of the officers there actually picked me up … then he carried me over because my legs started getting a little numb.”

The shivering man in the orange towel turned out to be Toronto police Const. Nickolas “Nick” Dorazio. Now, the towel is gone — and he has gone from the major crimes unit to patrol duty.

The job change is part of disciplinary action Dorazio is facing for pretending to be a flood victim stranded on the Richmond Hill-bound GO train.

Although Toronto Police Association president Mike McCormack said he couldn’t comment officially on whether Dorazio was supposed to be part of the rescue efforts, “that’s basically what happened.”

The misleading interview with Global News was brought to the attention of Dorazio’s supervisors shortly after it took place.

McCormack confirmed Dorazio has been removed from his position and placed on patrol duty.

Although he said he couldn’t talk about his case specifically, in similar circumstances an officer could be docked several days pay.

Dorazio is on the province’s so-called Sunshine List of public sector employees earning more than $100,000. Last year, he made just over $103,000.

Dorazio could not be reached for comment Tuesday, but McCormack said the constable “regrets having caused embarrassment.”

“There was no malice meant by it,” he said. “It was an ill-advised, ill-placed joke.”

Police spokesperson Mark Pugash called Dorazio’s actions “completely unacceptable.”

“There was a lot of excellent work done by emergency services that night under very difficult circumstances and I don’t understand why people do stupid things,” he said.

More than 100 mm of rain knocked out power July 8, flooded roadways and forced some commuters to abandon their vehicles. About 400,000 residents were also without power late into the evening, some well into the next day.

Passengers on the 5:30 p.m. train that Dorazio had claimed to be on were stranded near Pottery Rd. and Bayview Ave. and had to wait several hours for Toronto Marine Unit officers to use dinghies to get them off.

One passenger, Jonah Cait, 23, said he didn’t notice Dorazio on board, but after seven hours stranded he wasn’t really paying attention to who was, or wasn’t, on the train.

“I had honestly no clue,” Cait said, adding, “What’s the motive?”

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At one point while describing how “wobbly” he was getting from the cold, Dorazio wobbles on camera for effect. “It just kind of makes you weak in your knees,” he said.

At the end of the clip he thanks the interviewer before walking off, putting his orange towel over the shoulders of a person standing with a police officer near a police car.