Harbor Police Officers Christopher Scheil, Sam Davis and Patrick Hennigan will receive Lifesaving Citations from the Port of San Diego's Harbor Police Department for their work using CPR and an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) to save the life of a 26-year-old man who nearly drowned on July 9, 2015.
"These officers embody the teamwork and professionalism that define our Harbor Police Department," said Harbor Police Chief John Bolduc, who is the Port's Vice President of Public Safety. "Their professional skill and conduct along with their preparation and training helped them save a life. This is the most important duty entrusted to us by the public."
"This incident highlights the importance of highly trained and well equipped officers to include knowledge of CPR and deploying AED kits," said Assistant Chief of Police Mark Stainbrook. "The lifesaving response they provide to an unresponsive victim in the first few minutes until paramedics arrive is critical to the victim's ultimate survival."
The officers responded to a 911 call reporting an unresponsive man lying on the deck of a swimming pool at a marina on Harbor Island Drive. The man had been in the pool demonstrating his ability to hold his breath for long periods. His friends eventually realized that something was wrong; they pulled him out of the pool and began performing CPR.
The Harbor Police officers continued the CPR, and used an AED to deliver shocks to the man for 12 minutes, until they were relieved by San Diego Fire Department rescue personnel. The San Diego Fire Department medics delivered one more shock to the man, after which he regained a normal heart rhythm and began breathing on his own.
The Port's Harbor Police Department is an essential law enforcement agency that provides a range of public safety services to the San Diego region including marine fire fighting, vessel patrol, K-9 detection team, dive team and aviation security. The Harbor Police Department has been recognized by the U.S. Department of State for its efforts to support foreign port security and fight international crime.
About the Port of San Diego:
The Port of San Diego is a unified district encompassing five member cities surrounding San Diego Bay. A public agency, the Port is charged by the State of California with developing the tidelands and commercial business as steward of the public-trust tidelands along 34 miles of San Diego Bay. We share the waterfront with the Navy, which oversees 17 miles of San Diego Bay.
We operate under the Public Trust Doctrine, which specifies that these waterways and waterfronts are primarily reserved for water-dependent uses such as fishing, cargo activity, bay tours and recreational access such as hotels and restaurants; as well as environmental and natural-habitat preservation.
We have guided the development of this prime waterfront property with a carefully selected portfolio of world-class commercial real estate, maritime and public uses. Our 16 hotels, 25 marinas, numerous restaurants, tours and museum attractions operate side-by-side with a working waterfront of boatyards, sportfishing landings and marine cargo terminals. We also operate 22 public parks as amenities that attract visitors and enhance the value of our waterfront.