Here’s a wonderful word from the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office about two stories in which deputies assisted in saving the lives of two people –
“The topic of what role law enforcement serves or should be serving seems to be more popular than ever. Law enforcement professionals are expected to be many things to many people and although we don’t get it right 100% of the time, we often respond very well to nearly unsurmountable obstacles.
Many people that have not served as law enforcement officers may not realize that a large portion of our responses are to incidents that do not result in arrests. Often, our calls center more around public safety related to mental health, addiction, domestic disputes and a myriad of other social challenges.
The majority of law enforcement officers could attest to the fact that some of our most worthwhile calls are the ones where we can positively affect or even save a life.
We are often the very first of the first responders on scene, whether that scene is criminal in nature or not. When seconds count, we respond immediately with our gear in our vehicles and on our person. We are quite literally already in motion before the need presents itself.
Recently, DNSO Sergeant Jerrin Gill was training Yurok Tribal Police Officer James Kleinhans. They responded to a residence in Del Norte County for a possible overdose. Upon arrival they located an adult male that was not breathing and had no pulse.
They were able to move the subject to a flat area on the floor and assess him. He was purple and appeared to be down for a significant period of time, not breathing.
Deputy Cameron Stewart also arrived on scene and assisted with crowd control in the residence. Sergeant Gill administered one round of Narcan to the patient. Officer Kleinhans and Sgt. Gill applied a department issued AED to the patient and they immediately began CPR.
After a short time, while the AED was evaluating the patient, Sgt. Gill administered another dose of Narcan and continued CPR. After a couple minutes, the subject began breathing and had a pulse. A few minutes later, CFPD and DNA arrived on scene and assisted with transporting the patient to Sutter. Upon arrival at Sutter the patient was alert and talking with staff.
Also recently, Deputy Michael Jensen was dispatched to a report of a female that may have overdosed. Upon arrival, Deputy Jensen observed a female sitting in a chair unconscious and not breathing.
He assessed the situation, opened a pack of Narcan, administered one dose and began CPR. While administering CPR, around the third set of compression’s, the female subject gasped for air and obtained a faint pulse. Medical assistance arrived on scene shortly after and took over the subjects care and transported her to Sutter Coast Hospital for further treatment.
Had it not been for the commitment to life, availability, resourcefulness and quick-thinking of the above mentioned law enforcement officers lives would have likely been lost.
It might be easy to have preconceived notions regarding the value of someone’s life based off of the limited information of them overdosing, but calls like the two detailed above are not uncommon.
Neither is someone beating addiction and becoming a worthwhile mother, father, brother, sister, son, daughter or member of the community. Saving someone’s life and contributing to their success story is often what keeps us going.
If you take the time to talk to any Deputy or Officer that has served any amount of time on the job, their most favorite stories will be about the people they’ve helped along the way whether an arrest was involved or not.”
