Two Canton Police Department officers in Ohio are being praised for their quick thinking when a citizen was in desperate need of help.
Officials told Cleveland 19 that Officers Matthew Machamer and Austin Lute responded to Tuscarawas Street West in early October to help an unresponsive woman, the outlet reported Tuesday.
She was not breathing, therefore, the officers immediately took action by performing CPR.
Body camera footage showed the tense moments when one of the officers approached a red truck parked on the side of the road. The officer asked the woman, who was lying motionless in the passenger seat, if she could hear him but she did not respond.
He quickly began doing chest compressions in an effort to revive her. “No drug use, right?” He asked a man at the scene, who replied, “No.”
Moments later, the officer moved behind the woman while another first responder took over trying to save the her life:
“She’s breathing,” the officer later said, then asked for her name, which is Annette. “Annette, can you hear me?” he inquired and she responded to his voice.
The clip further showed emergency crews helping her out of the car before taking her to a local hospital.
Thanks to their efforts, Officers Machamer and Lute will be honored with a Lifesaver Award at a ceremony in the near future, according to Canton Police Chief John Gabbard’s office.
The woman, whose full name is Annette Conklin, hopes to attend so she can express her gratitude.
“I’m very thankful for both of them,” she told the Independent, adding, “Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here today.”
Conklin has suffered previous seizures, therefore, she never gets behind the wheel of a car. But this seizure resulted in cardiac pulmonary arrest.
The Canton Police Department said its mission is to protect the lives and properties of citizens, “enforce all city, state, and federal laws, prevent crime and educate the public.”