Waukesha Officer Honored For Saving Man's Life

WAUKESHA, WI — A City of Waukesha police officer was recently honored for saving a man's life during an intense police call that happened nearly one year ago today.

Waukesha police officer Joshua Tyndall was honored with a Certificate of merit during a Wisconsin Professional Police Association ceremony held on May 4, 2019 in Wisconsin Dells.

According to Waukesha police reports, on April 17 of 2018, Waukesha police were called to a home in the city for a report of a suicide in progress.

Police said Tyndall was one of the first people to arrive at the scene. He found a 36-year-old man hanging from the rafter in the basement, with a wire tied around his neck.

Tyndall, police said, saw that the man was still breathing. Tyndall also saw the man's neighbor holding him up, trying to prevent him from being suffocated by the wire.

According to police reports, Tyndall tried to cut the wire with his knife, but the wire was too thick. He radioed for a wire cutter.

Police said the neighbor was quickly tiring from holding up his neighbor. Police said Tyndall took hold of the suicidal man to hold him up. In doing so, he created enough slack in the wire so the neighbor could untie it.

Police said the quick thinking allowed the man to safely lay on the floor until help could arrive.

According to official records, as the man lay on the floor, Tyndall noted that the man did not have a pulse, nor was he breathing. He began performing CPR, and after a few tense moments, the man's breath and pulse returned.