Santa Maria Times
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. — Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputy saved an inmate from choking Monday by providing first aid when he noticed the man was struggling to breathe.
Around 2:30 p.m., Deputy Christopher Martinez was working in the Santa Barbara County Jail when he saw an inmate holding a piece of bread and pointing towards his throat, said sheriff’s spokeswoman Kelly Hoover.
Martinez recognized the inmate was choking and began to perform lifesaving procedures, Hoover said.
Martinez took the inmate out of his housing area, turned the man around and began to perform abdominal thrusts, also known as the Heimlich maneuver.
After eight abdominal thrusts, the bread dislodged from the inmate’s throat and he began to breathe without any issues, Hoover said.
The inmate was examined by a nurse practitioner and did not need further medical treatment, she said.
(c)2019 Santa Maria Times, Calif.