Four Laurel Police Department officers were recognized at the Laurel Council Meeting today for their heroic efforts in two separate incidents.
Lieutenant Mark Evans and Officer Brian Lilly were awarded the Certificate of Commendation as they displayed heroic efforts responding to a call for an unresponsive male at Fitness Depot.
Michael Dunn and his spouse Jill Dunn arrived at Fitness Depot to do their daily workout routine when Mr. Dunn passed out and was unresponsive.
“We went to the gym like always, said Jill Dunn [Michael Dunn’s spouse]. One of the other gym members said that Michael fell. We thought he tripped. I saw that he was on the ground twitching, foaming at the mouth, and was turning purple. I started screaming, ‘I don’t know CPR.’ There were around 20 people there and they were gathered around Michael. Angel [Mrs. Dunn’s friend] started trying to administer CPR, until Lieutenant Mark Evans and Officer Brian Lilly showed up. They took over and started pumping on his chest doing CPR.”
“If it wasn’t for these gentlemen standing here, the prayers surrounding us, I would be gone,” explained Michael Dunn.
Dunn was in ICU for multiple days before being taken to a regular room, then being discharged. He has since received a defibrillator and is recovering from the incident.
“We moved from California a year ago and I have never felt so much love in my life as I have here, said Mr. Dunn.
"We had people I barely knew saying that we had a prayer group for you. It touched my heart. I keep thanking God for these men and people in my life every day.”
“When I arrived on the scene, they told me there was an unresponsive man. We saw Mr. Dunn and I started doing whatever we could do to get him to breathing,” explained Lt. Mark Evans.
“I immediately started chest compressions, said Officer Lilly, “I believe if it wasn’t for the training we get through the Laurel Police Department we wouldn’t have been able to help him. I’m thankful for the training we receive. We are thankful he is here today.”
Pictured: Chief Tommy Cox, Officer Macon Davis, Lieutenant Mark Evans, and Officer Brian Lally. Officer Justin Landrum was not present due to training exercises.
Officers Macon Davis and Justin Landrum also received Certificates of Commendation as they responded to a traffic stop that led to the arrest of someone who had committed a murder. The suspect revealed later that he had contemplated killing Officer Davis, but due to the tactics and safety measures from Officer Davis and Officer Landrum, they prevented the unthinkable from happening.
“They were approaching Leontyne Price Boulevard. There was another traffic stop going on and they wanted to turn left, but saw the blue lights and abruptly turned right. That caught my attention towards them. I conducted a traffic stop due to the erratic driving, and that is when I made contact with the female driver and male passenger. The male had a handgun that ended up being stolen. He was taken into custody for that. He is now awaiting prosecution for murder,” said Officer Davis.
“Thank God our training blesses us in a way we can react the same every time. I’m thankful for Officer Justin Landrum for being there. When you see other blue lights pull up it is relieving. While speaking with the guy later I asked him why didn’t he make any attempt to escape and he responded that we never gave him a chance. He knew his time was up, and I’m thankful it went that way,” explained Officer Davis.