COLUMBUS, Ohio –
Defense Logistics Agency police officers tackle numerous calls supporting the Defense Supply Center Columbus on any given day.
Most of those calls are fairly routine, but occasionally, officers face crisis situations inside and outside the gates.
Such was the case on April 10, when DLA Police Officer Brandon Shutler encountered an unconscious person being pulled out of a stopped vehicle just outside of DSCC’s west perimeter fence line, near the intersection of First and A Streets in Whitehall, Ohio.
The caregiver was trying to save the individual but did not know what to do.
The individual was unconscious and had traces of vomit all over the front of his clothes, Shutler said.
Shutler, who was on his first solo patrol for the DLA police, immediately sprang into action and called the DSCC Emergency Services Dispatch Center for medical support and additional police units to the scene.
Shutler said the individual appeared to be overdosing on an unknown substance and according to the caregiver did not have a pulse.
Shutler was not able to physically help the individual or his caregiver since they were just outside the perimeter fence in an area along James Road where there are no entry/exit gates. He offered assistance while waiting for Columbus EMS to arrive by instructing the caregiver and other bystanders on the scene from the DSCC side of the fence.
To physically assist the individual Shutler would have taken several minutes to get back to his cruiser, drive around base to get to the exit gate, and drive to the scene, which would have been too late in this life-threatening incident.
“We can assist outside of the fencing under exigent circumstances,” Shutler said. “For this situation, it was more reasonable to assist from where I was located to ensure safety and proper procedures.”
Shutler was guiding the caregiver and a female bystander on how to administer CPR to the individual, when DLA Police Lt. Hunter Proscia arrived on the scene.
Proscia, who was serving his first day as a lieutenant, said he arrived approximately two to three minutes after Shutler requested EMS for the medical emergency and several other officers arrived soon after.
“We each pulled out our individual first aid kits and proceeded to equip the caregiver and bystanders with personal protection equipment which consisted of mainly gloves and towels,” Shutler said.
With multiple cycles of chest compressions from the caregiver and a female bystander, the unconscious individual gained consciousness and appeared to be breathing on his own, Shutler said.
Shutler and Proscia told the caregiver and multiple bystanders to place the individual in the “recovery position” allowing him to freely breathe without restriction.
According to the National Institutes of Health, the recovery position is positioning the person in a semi-prone; lateral recumbent; side-lying; three-quarters prone position to allow for less airway obstruction and improved circulation.
Proscia noticed the caregiver’s anxiousness throughout the incident and proceeded to give him and other surrounding bystanders bottles of water.
Columbus Emergency Medical Services arrived shortly after and used naloxone twice on the individual before placing him in the ambulance and transporting him to a nearby hospital, Shutler said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, naloxone is an opioid-overdose antidote often carried by first responders and caretakers and is effective against multiple types of drugs.
The substance taken by the individual was never identified on the scene.
“This was not a normal encounter as we normally do not assist with emergencies that are off the installation,” Proscia said.
A normal day consists of access control at all DSCC gates, traffic duties, fixed post operations, and force protection, with routine calls mainly consisting of access control violations, secured door alarms, distress calls, traffic control and force protection incidents, Shutler said.
Shutler has been with the DLA Police Department for 17 months, having graduated from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center’s Uniformed Police Training Program in Glynco, Georgia, March 23. Proscia was promoted from Sergeant to Lieutenant effective April 9. He has been with the DLA Police for five years and was Shutler’s trainer after graduation.
Shutler said he decided to become a police officer for the unique experience of helping others.
“We are given the great opportunity to work within our communities and provide protection and safety to those working on center,” he said. “I have always been interested in law enforcement with the hopes of one day working for a federal agency, such as DLA.”
Proscia said he joined the DLA Police to continue to serve after serving in the Marine Corps for several years.
“I am proud to have trained Officer Shutler, as he is a valuable asset to the DLA Police Department,” Proscia said.