News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Five Cookeville Police Officers received life-saving medals for work in saving a driver who a suffered cardiac event last August.
Cookeville Police Chief Randy Evans said the man crashed his vehicle while driving on North Washington Avenue. Evans said officers responded and administered CPR and deployed an AED.
“Of course, our officers, just by virtue of the fact that they’re out there in patrol, had the opportunity to get there first, and of course, as you all probably know, seconds matter when we’re dealing with cardiac events,” Evans said.
Officers Mariah Logg and Michael McDonald received two awards each, as they responded to the event on North Washington Avenue and a similar event just two days later. Officers Charlotte Austin, Mason Vaughn, and Sergeant Tammy Goolsby also received awards.
“I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about our fire personnel that respond and also our EMS personnel that respond,” Evans said. “They’re all part of that team that helped save these gentlemen.”
Evans said the department decided to issue and carry AEDs some 20 years ago for events just like these. Council Member Chad Gilbert said heroic work like this from Cookeville Police does not come as a surprise to city staff that get the chance to be around them and watch them work.
“Just to let the public know, we get the benefit of maybe interacting with you a little more than some, and we also get reports that not everyone sees on a daily basis, or maybe a weekly basis that shows just how many times these people contribute to life safety in our community, and we just can’t say thank you enough for that,” Gilbert said.
Council Members Ali Bagci and Luke Eldridge said police work is a thankless job, but these events make the entire community feel safe. Mayor Laurin Wheaton said these awards are rare and these achievements should not be taken lightly.
“To have five police officers getting life-saving awards, and some of y’all getting two life-saving awards, that’s something people don’t do in a lifetime,” Wheaton said. “So, it is an absolute honor to have y’all serving Cookeville in our police department. We are lucky to have y’all. Thank you so much for being a part of our city and for representing us.”
