DALLAS – Four U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers were honored recently at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport for heroic, life-saving actions taken when rendering aid to a heart attack victim returning from a Sydney, Australia vacation.
CBP officers Rene Saddler, Karyn Kruzel, Daniel Zmolik, and Bryan Brown were on scene after being alerted of a man collapsed inside the Federal Inspection Station. Officers rushed to the man’s side and quickly began their assessment. The man was unresponsive, not breathing, and did not have a pulse. Officers immediately retrieved and implemented the use of an automated external defibrillator, or AED, and administered one shock in an attempt to revive him. The patient remained unresponsive which led officers to initiate CPR, and after a short time of administering chest compressions, the patient regained a pulse and began breathing again. DFW EMS arrived and determined that the patient would need further medical attention and transported him to a local area hospital.
“Our agency has invested tremendously in our workforce to ensure a percentage of our officers are Nationally Certified Emergency Medical Technicians,” said Jayson P. Ahern, Port Director, Area Port of Dallas. “Our officers relied on their training which ultimately resulted in saving this man’s life.”
As a result of the officers’ quick actions and heroic efforts they were honored at a local DFW Airport award ceremony. The patient’s wife was on site to personally thank the officers for their efforts and said she was very grateful the officers acted as quickly as they did in coming to her husband’s aid. Additionally, she shared with them that her husband had made a full recovery and has returned to work.
CBP officers are assigned to air, sea, and land ports of entry and are in direct contact daily with travelers. If a traveler has a serious medical issue, immediate medical care during those initial minutes can be crucial to their survival. CBP started training officers as certified EMTs in 2019. Currently, there are 560 certified EMTs, four Advanced EMTs, and 19 Paramedics in CBP’s Office of Field Operations.
Please visit CBP Ports of Entry to learn more about how CBP’s Office of Field Operations secures our nation’s borders. Learn more about CBP at www.CBP.gov.