Submitted on behalf of the Bedford Police Department
Chief Robert Bongiorno is proud to announce that five members of the Bedford Police Department were honored this past weekend for their heroic actions that saved the life of a Bedford police officer last year.
Emergency Communications Officer Jeffrey Vinciulla, Detective Gary Martin, and Officers Robert Abajian, Stephen Waite, and Timothy Pike received the Irish American Police Officers Association of Massachusetts Lifesaving Award at an event on Saturday evening at the Malden Irish American Club. During a police department basketball game in March 2017, Officer Jeffrey French suddenly collapsed from a heart attack. The five other employees immediately ran to his aid and rendered life-saving first aid and emergency medical care to him until paramedics could arrive.
Officer French not only made a full recovery, but he came back to work and was present on Saturday to watch his brothers receive their award.
“I am incredibly proud that we can all sit here as a police department family and reflect on this incident together, with Officer French still with us,” Chief Bongiorno said. “That is in no small part thanks to the work of these five fine officers who immediately went into action.”
Award Narrative
On March 30, 2017, several members of the Bedford Police Department were either participating in or watching the department’s annual coaches vs. high school seniors basketball game that concludes the police basketball league season.
During that game, Officer Jeffrey French was running down the court when he suddenly collapsed and was unable to make any effort to catch himself as he fell. Nearby officers immediately reacted, with Officer Vinciulla observing that he was unresponsive and barely breathing.
Officer Stephen Waite immediately radioed for medical assistance and ran to retrieve the AED from outside the gymnasium while Officer Timothy Pike initiated chest compressions. Officer Waite quickly returned with the AED and Detective Gary Martin and Officer Robert Abajian applied the device’s pads. They subsequently shocked Officer French once with the AED and continued chest compressions until they located a pulse and he regained consciousness.
When an otherwise fun and laid back event was interrupted by a serious and life-threatening situation, it took officers mere seconds to begin administering CPR, and less than two minutes to use the AED and ultimately save Officer French’s life. He was able to return to work six months later.
For their immediate and decisive actions to save the life of a fellow officer, Emergency Communications Officer Jeffrey Vinciulla, Detective Gary Martin, Officer Robert Abajian, Officer Stephen Waite and Officer Timothy Pike are hereby awarded the Irish American Police Officers Association’s Lifesaving Award.
About the Irish American Police Officers Association Awards
Now in its 19th year, the IAPOA awards night recognizes heroism among law enforcement officers and the civilians who work every day to support the efforts of policing and corrections. Membership in the Irish American Police Officers Association is open to all full-time law enforcement officers for just $20 per year. For more information, visit irishamericanpolice.org.
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