Four Kent Police officers were honored this month by Chief Ken Thomas for their life-saving actions.
Thomas gave a brief description of each incident during his public safety report on June 17 to the City Council before Assistant Chief Rafael Padilla presented each with a commemorative plaque.
• Officer Brieann Johnson
Johnson responded in February to a man having a heart attack on the East Hill. She arrived at the house, removed an automated external defibrillator (AED) from her vehicle’s trunk, went inside and found an unconscious man. Another man was performing chest compressions.
“Brieann took out the AED and applied a shock to the gentleman which resulted in positive results, chest compressions continued and the man survived his heart attack,” Thomas said.
An AED is a portable electronic device that through an application of electrical therapy allows the heart to reestablish an effective rhythm. Kent officers started to carry the devices in 2010 because they sometimes arrive first at an emergency scene.
• Officer Randy Brennan
Brennan in April responded to a suspicious circumstance call on the East Hill. He arrived and found a 58-year-old man lying on the ground under a tree with an electrical cord hanging from a branch.
“The man was being held by his father who said, ‘My son is dead,'” Thomas said. “Officer Brennan checked for vital signs and although he found a very weak pulse, the man was not breathing. Officer Brennan drugged him away from the tree and began chest compressions and continued the compressions until the fire department arrived. The victim was transported to the hospital and officer Brennan’s quick reactions saved this man’s life.”
• Officers Will Davis and Trevor Wolcott
The two officers were dispatched in February to the East Hill to an apartment complex for a CPR in progress call. Wolcott found a 50-year-old man unconscious and not breathing.
“He (Wolcott) began CPR while officer Davis arrived with an AED,” Thomas said. “The AED was applied to the patient. Both officers traded off giving chest compressions until the fire department took over the scene. The fire department obtained a pulse, transported the patient to the hospital where he eventually recovered.”
Thomas emphasized the importance of a well-rounded police force, including helping people in need.
“Congratulations to all of our officers for the outstanding work,” Thomas said at the council meeting. “We highlighted some crime issues and investigations by our Special Investigations Unit but we’re also about saving lives.”
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