With CPR, Wheeling Cop Helps Save Collapsed Referee

WHEELING, IL — An off-duty Wheeling cop and assistant football coach helped revive a referee who collapsed during a high school football game Thursday. A 55-year-old man from Downer's Grove was referring a game between the freshman teams of Wheeling and Elk Grove Village high schools when he suffered a heart attack and collapsed around 5:33 p.m., police and school officials said.

Officer Rick Richardson, an Arlington Heights native who has been with the department since 2012, ran onto the field and immediately began performing CPR on the unconscious referee. Wheeling coach Joe Wolinski assisted by bringing over an automated external defibrillator to restore the man's heart rhythm, according to Deputy Chief Todd Wolff.

"After shocking him once with the AED, they were able to bring him back," Wolff said. "He was talking and breathing when the ambulance arrived."

The referee was taken to Glenbrook Hospital where his condition is currently stable, according to Wolff.

Richardson will receive a lifesaving award from the department and be recognized by the Wheeling Village Board for his efforts. A ceremony is planned after the referee recovers from planned heart surgery, Wolff said.

In addition to coaching part-time, Richardson is a standout football player in his own right and the Wheeling Police Department's only representative on the Chicago Enforcers. The Enforcers consist of members of area law enforcement agencies and compete in the National Public Safety Football League.

» UPDATE: Revived Ref Thanks 'Guardian Angels', Wheeling Teacher And Cop

_{Top photo: Officer Rick Richardson official portrait | Courtesy Wheeling PD}