While we associate medical emergencies with EMTs and paramedics, the truth is that the first responder to a medical emergency is often a police officer already on patrol in the vicinity.

That’s why more and more communities are making it a priority to equip patrol cars with automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and train police officers in AED use.

Here are just a few of the stories from the past year about law enforcement officers using defibrillators to save lives.

• In Northboro, Massachusetts, last week an officer on patrol heard a call come over the radio about a woman who had collapsed at her doctor’s office. Realizing he was just around the corner, Officer Nathan Fiske, Sr., took defibrillator from his patrol car and headed for the officer. Staff were already administering CPR. Fiske attached the defibrillator pads, and the defibrillator delivered a shock to restore the woman’s heart rhythm. CPR continued, and by the time the ambulance arrived, the woman was breathing again. Police officers with AEDs “hold the line until paramedics can arrive and offer advanced life support,” Police Chief Mark K. Leahy told a reporter for Telegram.com. The town had equipped its patrol cars with Powerheart G3 AEDs two years ago.

• Last month, in Florida, a police officer attending a corporate event in downtown Miami came to the rescue when the assistant city manager collapsed with sudden cardiac arrest. The officer used a Powerheart G3 AED to revive the official.

• Last fall, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a police officer grabbed the AED from his cruiser and climbed over a stopped train to reach a man who had collapsed at a softball game a quarter of a mile away, on the other side of the tracks. Officer Reid Lander got there, attached the AED, and made the save. The sudden cardiac arrest victim was taken to a nearby medical center, where staff gave Lander a new AED and pads to put his cruiser.

• Police cruisers equipped with AEDs can provide a community with round-the-clock protection. When the Rev. Gregory Ball collapsed from sudden cardiac arrest while jogging in Naples, Florida, last fall his wife, Bobbie Ball, ran to the home of Cpl. Jim Streeter. Streeter, a member of the Collier County Sheriff’s Department, jumped in the AED-equipped cruiser parked in his driveway and drove to the spot where Ball had collapsed. He used the AED to administer a shock, and followed with CPR. When paramedics arrived the pastor was already breathing on his own. All Collier County Sheriff’s department patrol cars are equipped with AEDs, through a partnership with the American Heart Association.

Last 5 posts

• Cardiac Science AEDs in Spain [VIDEO] - April 4th, 2011
• Cardiac Science wins first major public access defibrillation program in Europe - March 30th, 2011
• Georgia Park saves 5 lives with AEDs - March 24th, 2011
• Sad stories, avoidable deaths? - March 23rd, 2011
• Texas school's AED saves 6-year-old's life - March 22nd, 2011

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