East Hampton Village Officers Use an AED to Bring a Heart Attack Victim Back to Life

When  Officers Kenny Brabant Jr. and Chris Hansen got the call that a man was having a heart attack and not breathing on Wednesday morning, they got to his house quickly and saved his life.

They said they used an automated external defibrillator, a portable device that analyzes the heart's rhythm for arrhythmias and ventricular tachycardia and, according to the American Red Cross, then directs the user to deliver an electrical shock to the heart.

Hansen, who has been with the department six years, said he was near  when he was alerted to a 911 call on Race Lane at about 3 a.m. A 38-year-old man appeared to be having a heart attack and had stopped breathing. The officer said it took him about a minute to a minute-and-a-half to get to the house. Brabant soon followed behind.

Hansen got out his A.E.D., which officers carry in their car for such emergencies, and hooked it up to the dying man. The device prompted them to deliver shocks, or defibrillations, to the man's heart. By the second shock, an effective rhythm had been established.

While the man was still unconscious, he was breathing his own, the officers said. The , which the officer said soon arrived, continued to provide the man with medical care and transported him to Southampton Hospital. Brabant added that  Officer Barry Johnson arrived at the house shortly after they did to help out, as well.

"It didn't hit me at first because you're just doing it, you're going with the motions and everything," Hansen said of the save. "It was after the fact, when the EMTs came back and said, 'He's doing good, he's breathing on his own.' It's good to hear that this stuff works."

Brabant, an officer for about 10 years who is also a former  chief, said he doesn't feel like a hero. "We were doing our jobs. We were doing what we're supposed to do, that's all." 

Police Chief Jerry Larsen said the man was in a medically induced coma, but that he was still breathing on his own.

"These are two great officers, and this is just another example of the great work they do in this community. We are very proud of them," the chief said.

Hansen, who is a certified EMT, said he has used an AED four times before, but it had never brought someone back to life. "The fifth time, it worked. It's great to hear he's doing okay," he said of the victim.

Along with Village Sgt. Matt Morgan, Hansen teaches cardiopulmonary resuscitation to the members of the department.