nothin These Cops Saved Lives | New Haven Independent

These Cops Saved Lives

NHPD

NHPD October Officer of the Month Milton DeJesus with YPD Assistant Chief Micheal Patten

Yale Police Sgt. Christopher Halstead provided the following account of the acts of four officers who saved the life of a Yale student in August and were recently awarded life saving awards for their heroism.

The 911 call dispatchers said smoke was coming from the third floor of the Chelsea Company Apartments at almost half past midnight.

New Haven Police officers Milton DeJesus (pictured in the photo above at right) and Jacob Cedeno arrived on the scene along with a Yale police officer Daniel Cavanaugh.

Another YPD officer, Martin Parker, who had arrived at the call first, informed them that there was smoke coming from an apartment on the third floor and that someone was possibly still inside.

Together, the four police officers then rushed to the apartment. 

YPD

YPD officers Cavanaugh (left) and Parker (right) received the Linda K. Lorimer award for staff excellence and distinguished service to the university.

Parker, seeing the smoke, broke down the door. Parker and DeJesus hurried in to the apartment to search for and find the Yale-post doctorate student who had fallen asleep in her bed, which was adjacent to the kitchen.

Both DeJesus and Parker grabbed the student by her arms and hustled her out of the apartment out to Cavanaugh. The student was conscious, but collapsed after being brought out of the apartment. Cavanaugh carried the student downstairs to safety.

Officer Jacob Cedeno (pictured at right) is the November NHPD Officer of the Month.

With the student safely outside, DeJesus and Cedeno (pictured at right in the photo) searched the apartment, where the so thick that breathing was nearly impossible and visibility was reduced to nearly one foot, to make sure she was the only person left in the apartment. Meanwhile, Parker discovered the source of the smoke: a pan that had been left on the stove. He threw the pot in the kitchen sink and doused it with water.

The student was transported to Yale-New Haven Hospital where she was treated for minor smoke inhalation and alcohol intoxication. During subsequent interviews, she said that she had been drinking vodka while cooking dinner, which led to her falling asleep before the pan started smoking.

As a precaution Parker was transported to the Yale Health Center for smoke inhalation where he was cleared for duty by the on staff physician with instructions to return should symptoms develop.

Had YPD officers Parker and Cavanaugh, and NHPD officers DeJesus and Cedeno not breached the door and entered the apartment [the student] would with certainty have succumbed to the smoke,” according to Halstead.

Sign up for our morning newsletter

Don't want to miss a single Independent article? Sign up for our daily email newsletter! Click here for more info.


Post a Comment

Commenting has closed for this entry

Comments

There were no comments