A Gwinnett County police officer saved a man’s life Friday morning thanks to equipment that his department began utilizing just last month.
Officer Scott Thompson was dispatched to the Lilburn-area intersection of Rockbridge and Wydella roads at about 11:30 a.m. Friday after a 911 caller reported “that an unresponsive man was inside a white work van at the stop sign,” Gwinnett County police spokeswoman Cpl. Michele Pihera said. After arriving at the scene, Thompson discovered that the man had no pulse and was “pale and cold.”
Thompson notified the fire department and, while awaiting an ambulance, retrieved the defibrillator from his squad car. The defibrillator directed Thompson to administer CPR, Pihera said.
“After about five cycles of chest compressions, the man lifted his lefts and CPR was stopped,” Pihera said. An ambulance arrived shortly thereafter.
The man was transported to Eastside Medical Center for “follow-up care,” Pihera said.
Gwinnett County police began equipping officers with defibrillators, as well as anti-overdose medication Naxolone, on May 22.
