SUNNY ISLES BEACH, Fla. – Sunny Isles Beach Mayor Dana Goldman said she was grateful for the three police officers who saved the life of her husband, Michael Gates.
She had just won the runoff election on Nov. 16 and celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary on Nov. 17. Gates was removing campaign signs. He approached the officers and started to stumble.
Gates, 72, collapsed and suffered a cardiac arrest. Sgt. Javier Estevez said he saw him take “his last breath.”
Estevez, Officer Mark Quinlan, and Sgt. Brian Schnell moved quickly. Schnell used an automated external defibrillator to quickly send an electric pulse to his heart.
“I have been doing this for 24 years and I think I have only shocked one other person,” Schnell said, adding Gates was in “really, really bad shape.”
Since officers are usually the first to respond to a 911 call, they are equipped with the portable device, or AED, to help anyone who experiences sudden cardiac arrest. Gates was doing well on Wednesday and Goldman will be honoring the officers at a commission meeting next week.