OAKLAND — Four Alameda County sheriff’s deputies are being credited with saving the life of a man who suffered cardiac arrest Wednesday afternoon at the Oakland International Airport, authorities said.
Sheriff’s Sgt. Ray Kelly said medical professionals who responded to the airport afterward said if the deputies had not intervened, the man would not have survived.
The 52-year-old man had apparently just arrived at the airport and was standing outside Terminal 2 when a deputy saw him collapse to the ground unconscious, Kelly said. The sheriff’s department provides security at the airport.
Kelly said three other deputies at the airport also responded and the four began life-saving measures. They were able to retrieve a defibrillator that is among those at different sites at the airport as well as in deputies’ cars, and used it to give a shock to the man’s body, bringing him back to consciousness, Kelly said.
The man was taken to a hospital, where his condition was not immediately available.
Kelly said what happened Wednesday was not the first time deputies at the airport had acted quickly and saved someone’s life. “We credit their training and experience with saving this man’s life,” Kelly said. “This is one of the most important things law enforcement can do — save a life.”
George Kelly contributed to this report.
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— Oakland Intl Airport (@IFlyOAKland) May 29, 2019
