Bluffton police officer saves two lives in a month

A Bluffton police officer is responsible for saving two lives in the last month thanks to quick action and the help of the automated external defibrillator he carried.

Officer Jim Mendicino was flagged down by a woman whose husband had collapsed on a Bluffton road last weekend, according to Joy Nelson, spokesperson for the Bluffton Police Department. When he found the man did not have a pulse, he removed the AED from his patrol vehicle and started CPR until it was necessary to attach the AED to the man to deliver a shock.

In one shock, the man’s heartbeat was restored to a normal rhythm and he began breathing again.

He was taken to a hospital where he is recovering, Nelson said.

The incident was the second time Mendicino successfully used his AED in a month.

On Oct. 25, he and Officer Jason Rodriguez responded to a call around 10 a.m. on Red Cedar Street, according to a Police Department report.

When they arrived, the found the victim had fallen and was unresponsive.

Once again Mendicino and Rodriguez used an AED and restored the man’s pulse after two shocks and chest compressions.

The AEDs were provided to the department by the the Arrhythmia Alliance’s Gavin Quance Defibs Save Lives Campaign.

The campaign provided each of the Bluffton Police Department’s patrol vehicles with the machines that tell the user exactly what to do - with no prior training required - when helping an unresponsive person, according to an Arrhythmia Alliance news release.

This story was originally published November 18, 2016 at 3:51 PM with the headline "Bluffton police officer saves two lives in a month."