Posted 1:23 am Friday, December 16, 2011
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Cop Saves Second Life This Year
By KENNETH DEAN
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
A 45-year-old Tyler woman and her family won't soon forget a Tyler police officer's life-saving Christmas gift.
Sitting in a conference room at East Texas Medical Center talking to the media on Thursday, Jason Glasscock said of the officer who helped his big sister, "He's a hero. If you save a life, you're a hero. Had he not been there. ... Her heart did stop."
Tyler police spokesman Don Martin said motorcycle officer Jimmy Turner was on duty working near the Azalea District Post Office on South Broadway Avenue about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday when he was called to help a woman who collapsed in the post office parking lot.
"Turner had just completed a traffic stop in the 2600 block of South Broadway near the post office. A citizen ran up to Officer Turner and advised him that a woman had just collapsed in the post office parking lot next to her vehicle," he said.
Martin said Turner ran to the woman and quickly realized she had no pulse.
"Officer Turner called for medical assistance and began chest compressions until fire and EMS arrived on the scene," he said.
Turner said when he realized how serious the situation was he acted as he was trained.
"Of course, after I checked for vitals and found nothing, I again got on the radio and expressed my heightened sense of urgency that they get there as fast as they could," he said.
Martin said Tyler firefighters used the defibrillator twice to regain her heartbeat. The 45-year-old woman, identified as Lisa Jones, of Tyler, was taken to ETMC and is expected to recover thanks to the quick response of Turner. She was listed in fair condition Thursday.
In August, Turner also was involved in reviving a small 3-year-old child discovered at the bottom of the pool at a birthday party he was attending, Martin said. The child was pulled from the pool and Turner administered CPR until the child regained consciousness and started to breathe on his own.
Turner said he does not consider himself a hero, but instead, an officer doing the job he was trained to do.
"I'm proud I was given the chance to act in the time of need," he said.
Turner said he didn't believe he was a hero but did think it was a gift to be able to help save the lives of two people in just a few short months.
"I told my wife that for the first nine years of my career, nothing happened and now twice in one year I have had to use the skills I was given through my training," he said. "It really is interesting to be able to experience a one-time saving a life like this, but to be able to have a chance to be involved in possibly another life saving incident, it's pretty overwhelming."
Turner said the Christmas season has taken on a whole new meaning this year.
"Christmas is a gift of life, you know, and to be able to continue on with that gift of life in another measure is amazing," he said.
Glasscock said his family, friends and church rallied around his sister and as memories of years past flooded through his mind, he could do only one thing and that was to pray.
"I immediately started praying and my wife walked in and put hands on her," he said. "I'm blessed that my family has always been healthy and the one time that something like this happened, there was a Tyler police officer there and the fire department right behind him," he said.
When asked what he would say to Turner if given the chance, Glasscock quickly said, "You saved my sister's life, man. Thank you."
