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Ex-Tinian resident honored for saving man’s life
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Posted on Dec 05 2013
A police officer in Park Ridge, Illinois, who is a native of Tinian, has been recognized with one of the police department’s highest honors for helping save a man’s life last summer.
According to a report in the Sun Times in Parkridge, officer Ken King was presented with the Lifesaving Award on Dec. 9 for performing CPR on a 62-year-old man who had collapsed on a sidewalk on the night of Aug. 2. The man had no pulse and was not breathing when King arrived, police said.
Sun Times said the man, Bradford Wisniewski, of Park Ridge, spent time in a coma after suffering a heart attack that summer day, but has since fully recovered and met King for the first time during Monday’s City Council meeting, where King was recognized for his heroic actions.
“You can’t adequately thank someone for saving your life,” Wisniewski said. “People do nice things for people and people have certainly done nice things for me, but doing what he did, being there and knowing what to do, I’ll be forever grateful.”
A 10-year veteran of the Park Ridge Police Department, King says it was just training that kicked in when he responded to the call and found Wisniewski unconscious on the ground. It was the first time he used his CPR training in the field.
“It came automatic, because we’ve done it so many times in training,” King told Sun Times. “The training just took over.”
He called the recognition he received from the police department “unexpected.”
“My concern at the time was his life, bringing him back,” King said. “If he made it, he made it. But if he didn’t, then I tried to give it my best. But I didn’t expect to get an honor like this, nor do I try to look for an opportunity like this.”
Park Ridge Police Chief Frank Kaminski said the department is “grateful” to have King among its ranks. “He’s truly an inspiration and officer I’m extremely proud of. …I can’t say enough about him.”
King is a former resident of Tinian in the CNMI. Prior to relocating to Chicago to give his two children better educational opportunities, he was a customs officer. He is the son of Serafina R. King-Nabors of Tinian. (Saipan Tribune)
