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View Winners → Sheriff’s sergeant uses Heimlich to dislodge food from choking man
LA County Dec 13, 2022
Surveillance video shows LASD Sgt. Duncan providing the life-saving Heimlich maneuver to a county employee choking on food. | Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
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Calling the action, “just me doing what any deputy would do,” a sheriff’s sergeant Tuesday applied the Heimlich maneuver to dislodge food particles from the throat of a man choking behind a Department of Public Social Services office in South Los Angeles.
The sergeant, assigned to the sheriff’s County Services Bureau, was patrolling an alley behind the Department of Public Social Services office at 2707 S. Grand Ave., near Adams Boulevard and the Harbor (110) Freeway, about 2:30 p.m. when he saw a county employee exit his van in distress, the Sheriff’s Information Bureau reported.
“(He) saw the man’s face was red and was giving him the international sign for ‘choking’ by signaling with his hand towards his neck,” according to a statement from the department. “(He) immediately got out of his patrol vehicle to render aid. Seeing the man was choking and could not breathe, he immediately applied the Heimlich maneuver.”
The sergeant was able to dislodge the food particles, after about five to six thrusts, and the man’s airway was clear. The county employee declined any medical assistance, so the sergeant monitored him for about five to 10 minutes before resuming his patrol.
“The quick response of Sergeant Duncan was another example of the extraordinary job the men and women of this department provide to the citizens of LA County,” Sheriff Robert Luna said. “Thank you Sergeant Duncan.”
Duncan’s first name was not released.
There were 4,963 deaths from choking in the United States in 2020, according to the National Safety Council, which bills itself as the nation’s leading nonprofit safety advocate.
