Police officer saves another life
Posted: March 19th, 2009, 4:12 pm
WATERTOWN - What began as a normal patrol shift for Belmont Police Officer Mike McHugh ended with an 88-year-old man living to see another birthday.
McHugh was in his cruiser on Belmont’s Park Road around 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 14, when he heard the Watertown dispatch call for a report of a man down on the Watertown side of Belmont Street. McHugh, who said he regularly scans other town’s dispatches, headed over to Belmont Street.
The man was lying face down on the sidewalk when McHugh arrived, and did not respond to the officer’s questions. According to his report, there were no signs of breathing or a pulse.
McHugh said he started with cardiopulmonary respiration, and “he seemed to be coming around.” He switched to bagged oxygen until the arrival of Officer Mark Pugliese, followed quickly by the Belmont Fire Department.
The Newton Street resident was taken to Mt. Auburn Hospital for treatment and was released Tuesday, his daughter said. The doctors are not sure what caused his collapse, but the resuscitation he received from McHugh saved his life.
“It’s just incredible,” said Kate Johnson, now a resident of Cape Cod. “Coming to the scene like that without being dispatched, it’s just fantastic. He saved my father’s life for sure.”
Her father will celebrate his 89th birthday on Oct. 30, and is “doing really well now,” she said.
“We’re just so grateful to the officer,” she said. “In this day and age, not a lot of people are willing to go above and beyond like that, and he did.”