Police Officers Honored for Lifesaving Actions

Two Metra Police officers whose actions are credited with saving the life of a passenger in November were honored today by the Metra Board of Directors at its monthly meeting.

 

On Nov.17, 2015, at LaSalle Street Station, Metra Police Officer Douglas Weincek observed a man in distress who then collapsed on the station floor. Officer Weincek, joined by Metra Police Officer Joseph Cusentino, immediately began administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The officers also deployed an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) but the subject remained unresponsive.

 

However, Officers Cusentino and Weincek continued to perform CPR until the Chicago Fire Department arrived to transport the man to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Both the responding Chicago Fire Department lieutenant and Northwestern Memorial Hospital staff contacted the Metra Police Department later that evening to advise that the man survived, and was alive only due to the lifesaving measures taken by Officers Cusentino and Weincek.

 

“We couldn’t be more proud of the actions of these two officers,” said Metra Executive Director/CEO Don Orseno. “By using their CPR training and the AEDs that Metra has made easily accessible throughout our system, they made an immeasurable difference in the life of this man turning this incident into a success story ̶ not a statistic.”

 

“With this incident, we once again are reminded that anyone can save a life," said Dr. Clyde Yancy, chief of cardiology at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and associate director of Northwestern Medicine's Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute, the top-ranked heart center in Illinois and the surrounding states. "Early use of an automatic external defibrillator and CPR made all the difference. Call 911, know CPR, and use an AED if trained. You just may save a life.”

 

In 2012, Metra and Northwestern Medicine, the strategic alliance of Northwestern Memorial HealthCare and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, teamed up with Cardiac Science to install 425 AEDs on board trains and at locations throughout Metra’s system. Since 2012, the AEDs have been deployed 10 times for cardiac events. Metra is also overseeing the training of commuter service employees in CPR and has certified more than 400 employees in this lifesaving skill this year. All Metra police officers are trained and certified in CPR and the use of AEDs.