Authorities: Transit Officer Suffers Heart Attack Following Confrontation With Suspect
By Justin Udo
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A SEPTA transit police officer had a heart attack Thursday while making an arrest.
Quick action by other police officers made all the difference in this life and death situation.
Authorities say a transit police sergeant was on patrol at 16th and JFK in Center City Philadelphia when he saw a man breaking a window and when he confronted the suspect, the man attacked him. But not before the officer was able to call for backup.
"They were able to take the man into custody as soon as they got that man into handcuffs the sergeant collapsed. He suffered a significant cardiac event," said SEPTA transit police Chief Thomas Nestel.
Chief Nestel says the other arresting officers raced the sergeant to Hahnemann University Hospital where he received treatment and was placed in stable condition.
"I heard the officer calling for help and saying that we had a member that was down. It runs a chill up your spine and it gets a lot of people with transit police patches running. It was great to see the response and I can't tell you how happy I am that it worked out."
Chief Nestel says the suspect faces charges including aggravated assault and resisting arrest.
