ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 24, 1997 TAG: 9704240024
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: S.D. HARRINGTON THE ROANOKE TIMES
When a Salem 2-year-old fell and hit his head, the first 911 responder arrived in a police car, not an ambulance. But he knew exactly what to do.
Saving lives is nothing new to Scott Sheppard. He's been doing it nearly 13 years as a paramedic for Roanoke Emergency Medical Services, a medic at the Roanoke County Jail and currently as a volunteer for the Salem Rescue Squad.
But doing it as a Salem police officer - with no medical equipment or supplies - is what recently won him recognition.
Sheppard responded to a call at Willow River apartments at 3:40 p.m. Oct. 7. A terrified father had called 911 after his 2-year-old son fell from a patio table, hit his head on a rail then again on the concrete patio floor.
Sheppard got there about one minute after the call. The boy was unconscious. His pulse was normal, but he was not breathing. His tongue was blocking his air passage.
The officer immediately cleared the child's throat, and the little boy started breathing.
"He was breathing as long as I was holding his airway open," Sheppard said.
The boy vomited, and his throat had to be cleared again.
After another minute or two, another officer arrived. Sheppard had him hold the boy's airway open while he looked to see if anything else could be done for the child.
It all happened in about four minutes. Emergency crews arrived with an ambulance, and the boy eventually recovered.
Sheppard hasn't seen or heard from the child at Willow River since that October afternoon. Police officers rarely stay in contact with victims in cases like this, said Chief James Bryant. And because they normally do not release the names of victims, particularly minors, police would not release this child's name.
His fellow officers took note of Sheppard's heroics and nominated him as Officer of the Year in Salem. The Salem-Roanoke County Chamber of Commerce honored him with the title during a ceremony last month.
"It was above and beyond what you would expect to encounter in a day's work," said Deputy Chief Jeff Dudley.
Sheppard, 32, said he was just doing his job, that protecting and saving lives is what police officers are supposed to do.
But Sheppard has more medical training than the average police officer. When he arrives at a scene before emergency medical crews, he sometimes can begin treatment without supplies and equipment. And he knows what information paramedics will need when they arrive.
Sheppard, a Salem High School graduate, joined the Salem police force three years ago after working as a medic at the Roanoke County Jail.
When he isn't saving lives for the Police Department, he's doing it as a volunteer with the Salem Rescue Squad.
"I don't have a lot of free time," he said.
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