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Police officer saves life in line of duty

  • Published
  • 507th Air Refueling Wing
An Air Force reservist working in the Broken Arrow (Okla.) Police Department received an award Jan. 14 for saving a person's life.

In addition to being a police officer, Maj. Robert Baird is a logistics officer with the 507th Air Refueling Wing's Logistics Readiness Squadron here.

While on patrol Dec. 30, 2009, he responded to an emergency call from the city community center. He arrived to find a 39-year-old man unconscious on the basketball court.

The man was not breathing and had a "weak" pulse. Although there were close to 100 people at the center, no one else had stepped forward to help the man.

Officer Baird quickly assessed the situation and immediately started cardiopulmonary resuscitation. He continued to administer CPR for more than 2 minutes until members of the local fire department arrived.

Medical response people verified that the man was in cardiac arrest and shocked him with a defibrillator. Officer Baird stayed with the man until the fire department transported the patient to a hospital.

"The actions of the first responders certainly saved this man's life," said Dr. Nathan Reusser, the attending physician. "It is not often someone who collapses with this type of cardiac condition even survives unless CPR is administered immediately."

For his actions, the Broken Arrow Police Department presented a lifesaving award to Officer Baird. (Air Force Reserve Command News Service from a 507th ARW news release)