Naugatuck police officers save life of local man

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Officers Bryan Coney, left, and Thomas Grant saved the life of a Naugatuck man. - PHOTO SUBMITTED

NAUGATUCK – In the midst of the severe snow storm Jan. 12, two Naugatuck police officers responded to a medical call.

Janice McDevitt and her husband Timothy McDevitt were at home on that blustery day when Timothy went into cardiac arrest, Janice McDevitt said.

Janice McDevitt said she started giving her husband CPR with one hand while dialing 911 with the other.

She called her neighbors, who helped until the paramedics arrive, she said.

Luckily, officers Thomas Grant and Bryan Coney were in the neighborhood and arrived at 411 Tawny Thrush Road around 11 a.m., within minutes of the call, police said.

They found the victim, Timothy McDevitt, unresponsive and not breathing.

Acting instinctively, the officers began administrating live-saving techniques. They applied an automated external defibrillator (AED) to McDevitt, implementing a controlled shock.

As they had been trained, the officers gave McDevitt CPR, causing his heart to begin beating again, police said.

While the officers took care of Timothy McDevitt, the couple’s neighbors rushed to clear a pathway through two feet of snow so the ambulance could get through.

The officers were relieved by Naugatuck EMS and Paramedics who took McDevitt to Saint Mary’s Hospital, where he received further treatment.

“He left here with a heartbeat and breathing,” McDevitt said.

After the ambulance left, the officers continued to support Janice McDevitt emotionally, she said.

Timothy McDevitt was discharged from the hospital Jan.21 and is recovering from the incident, according to the police.

“He’s doing very well. … It’s a miracle for someone to cardiac arrest outside a medical setting to be fully functioning and alive and coming home,” Janice McDevitt said.

After the incident, Janice McDevitt called the Lt. Robert Harrison to recommend Grant and Coney receive an award for their professionalism, knowledge and courtesy.

When she called, police told her they rarely get acknowledgement for the good they do.
Chief of Police Christopher Edson approved a request by the officers’ supervisors to nominate them for the Life Saving Award.

“They deserved it all,” Janice McDevitt said.

McDevitt said the response by the police, medics, and neighbors was phenomenal.

“I can’t thank them enough. … I’m just glad my husband’s alive and well and coming back home,” she said.