Laramie Police Chief Dale Stalder adjusts the Life Saving Award medal just placed around Sergeant Robert Austin’s neck on Wednesday afternoon. Austin earned the Life Saving Award after his quick thinking and CPR skills helped save a Laramie resident’s life in March.
Laramie Police Chief Dale Stalder adjusts the Life Saving Award medal just placed around Sergeant Robert Austin’s neck on Wednesday afternoon. Austin earned the Life Saving Award after his quick thinking and CPR skills helped save a Laramie resident’s life in March.
For his quick thinking and persistence with CPR during a medical call in March, the Laramie Police Department awarded a Life Saving Award to LPD Sergeant Robert Austin Wednesday afternoon.
On the morning of March 6, Austin and an LPD officer Justin Johnson were dispatched to a residence on McCue Street to assist an unresponsive individual. During the ceremony Wednesday, LPD Chief Dale Stalder explained the complainant who contacted emergency services had found his roommate unresponsive next to some empty pill bottles in a possible suicide attempt.
“On scene, Sgt. Austin observed a 29-year-old male convulsing in a bedroom,” Stalder said. “While awaiting (Emergency Medical Services) arrival, Sgt. Austin turned the subject onto his side and loosely held him as he continued to convulse.”
Stalder added the man then stopped breathing, at which point Austin “began chest compressions and continued these for 1 minute and 37 seconds until the arrival of EMS and (for) transport to the hospital.”
In a letter of accommodation from attending Emergency Room physician Dr. Ken Barrick at Ivinson Memorial Hospital, he said the sergeant’s quick actions resulted in “the patient having a full neurological recovery” from a potentially deadly situation. The chest compressions helped keep blood flowing from the patient’s heart to his brain.
“It is without question, the fast actions of this officer led to a positive outcome from a significant medical emergency,” Barrick said in the letter.
The firefighters who responded to the scene also assisted with the effort, Austin said during the ceremony. He added he’s “always relieved” when the fire department arrives to help.
“On this day, I was really relieved to see you guys,” Austin said, motioning to the firemen who attended the ceremony. “It was a really big team effort with the fire department getting this gentleman to the hospital, getting him into the ER and turned over to the doctors and the nurses.”
During his introduction, Stalder said it’s not uncommon for police officers to be the first responders at the scene of a medical emergency.
“Because of the way we work within the community and the way it works across the whole country, police officers arrive on scene to medical calls before —sometimes shortly, sometimes longly — before EMS can get there,” Stalder said. “That’s just the deployment capabilities of both the fire department and the police department.”
He added It’s also “not unusual for officers to be integral in the actions that take place” during medical calls. Those actions can include directing EMS to the correct location, lighting a dark area at night or “sometimes providing lifesaving care, which officers are trained to do at a very basic level,” Stalder added.
Stalder said this is the ninth Life Saving Award he’s given during his 10-year tenure as LPD Police Chief.
Austin added LPD is “truly a family” to him and expressed his thanks for the award.
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