Johnston Police Officer Credited With Saving A Life

Officer Brad Lowe doesn't generally work the day shift for the

But luckily for one man at Lowe was on duty the afternoon of Oct. 10. The Johnston officer is being credited with saving the man's life and those of the bystanders around him.

"I was near that location when the trip came in," said Lowe, an officer in Johnston since 2009. "It's one of those calls you hope you can get there and make a difference."

The call was that of an unresponsive male in the parking lot of the John Deere Financial building.

"It had just started raining," Lowe recalled. "When I arrived on scene there was a gentleman in the parking lot, there was a large group of people around him. I gathered what information I could."

Lowe said he believes a construction worker had begun CPR on the man, but they group was working to prepare a defibrillator for use — a device that delivers a shock to the heart to restart it.

"I recommended that we hold off on the usage of the (defibrillator)," Lowe said. "Then I checked his pulse and started chest compressions like I'm trained."

While a defibrillator can be a life-saving machine, with training and a quick assessment of the conditions Lowe knew it would be dangerous.

"In our training they do say that you can use it in wet conditions, but they recommend that the patient be dry or in a dry area," Lowe said. "At this point it was almost a downpour. My first instinct was that it wasn't the best option."

Lowe continued compressions until paramedics arrived in what he estimated to be four or five minutes.

"Any time you're in a situation it seems like a minute is a half hour, but I'd say they were there in five minutes or less," he said.

On Monday, Lowe was honored by the Johnston City Council for the lifesaving measure and protecting the bystanders.

Mayor Paula Dierenfeld congratulated Lowe on his commendation.

"I'm so proud of the officers in the Johnston Police Department," she said. "They do outstanding work. Here's a fine example of the things they do to protect our public on a day-to-day basis."

Police Chief Bill Vaughn is proud of Lowe's work, as well as all the other Johnston police officers.

"He performed remarkably well under the circumstances," Vaughn said. "Not only did he implement CPR, but he had the foresight to prevent the deployment of the AED in those wet conditions. And AED is very effective, but in those conditions it can no only injure the person it's used on, but the bystanders."

Lowe said he's honored by the recognition, but it's just part of his job.

"Any officer that would have been called to that would have acted the same as I would have," he said. "I happened to be the fortunate one to be close and on scene and make a difference in someone's life."

Vaughn said because of health information privacy it's difficult to get any information on the man, but he knows the victim is recovering.