Six Georgia prisoners have been credited with saving the life of a law enforcement officer who passed out while on duty, Fox News reported.
After mentioning that he wasn’t feeling well, the unidentified Polk County Sheriff’s officer collapsed last Monday in front of the inmates, 11Alive.com reported. Seeing that the officer was unconscious, the six prisoners jumped into action, removing his shirt and performing chest compressions. Another inmate used the officer’s work phone to call for an ambulance.
“When he started breathing, it was just real heavy and real fast,” one of the inmates told the local station.
“When that happened, in my opinion, it wasn’t about who is in jail and who wasn’t,” he continued. “It was about a man going down and we had to help him.”
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As a way of thanking the inmates for their heroic actions, the officer’s family treated them to an outdoor pizza lunch with desserts.
Just a day after the officer’s life was saved, two Georgia prison guards were murdered by two inmates on a bus that was transferring prisoners to a different facility. The incident led to a three-day manhunt that ended with the miraculous capture of convicts Donnie Rowe and Ricky Dubose.
In light of these two events that had two very different outcomes, Polk County Sheriff’s Office posted a special message on Facebook, commending the inmates for doing the right thing.
“As we watched the horrific man hunt this week of the two inmates that killed two Correctional Officers and were captured last night we all know that Monday could have ended differently for our Officer,” the post reads. “We are very proud of the actions of all 6 inmates involved.”
As families and colleagues continue to mourn the two officers who were killed last week, the story of the six heroic inmates serves as a powerful and timely reminder that redemption is still possible.