Pam Jordan says that she was hopeful when she began CPR on her three-year-old grandson Isaiah Jones after he drowned in the family’s pool. He was allegedly regaining color and coughing. That stopped, she claims, when a Wichita police officer arrived and inexplicably ordered her to stop and move away from the child. However, he did not continue the CPR and the boy died.
Notably, the family says that when other officers arrived later, they immediately resumed CPR. Pam Jordan is a former medical assistant and the grandfather is an 18-year veteran of the Wichita Fire Department.
It is well known that the minutes following a drowning are critical in saving a life and preventing brain damage. It is shocking if the officer ordered a stop to the CPR given that fact. It is not clear if the officer was trained in CPR or the reason why he would order a family to stop such measures.
There are often incidents between police and family members who seek to help loved ones. One recent case where a son was tasered to prevent him from helping his drowning father, here.
For the full story, click here.
Unfortunately, police officers are trained to be suspicious first not render (or support) first aid. What a terrible outcome. Hopefully the Wichita Police Department has learned from this incident.
I think there’s still something to be said for lethal injections… This schmuck has lost his brain functions a long long time ago, we should let him go already.
I am afraid that I would have been in the same boat as Buddha. Failure to obey the lawful commands of a police officer during an emergency situation is known as Resisting and Obstructing the “lawful” commands of a Law Enforcement Officer.
Now I think I would have been arrested and believe that no Jury would convict. That is if the DA/Prosecutor is stupid enough to charge.
I would also believe that under the circumstances that the city would want to settle this nice and quitely.
You may have all heard the stories of good men being turned away as potential police officers, due to their being intelligent or otherwise Too Smart…Well they’re true..!
I’m sure there a spot on the West Caldwell NJ police force for this guy, he’d fit right in…and I know Sam Alito would approve..!
puzzling wrote: “My guess is that the officer’s defense will be that he felt the grandmother was not performing the resuscitation correctly and that he knew trained resources were arriving.”
As a nurse, I’ve heard it said that CPR that is performed incorrectly is better than no CPR at all.
Having said this, there is, of course, the question of brain damage, which occurs after approximately 2-3 minutes without air. I can’t possibly know what the police officer was thinking, but he should not have ordered the deceased’s grandmother to stop CPR.
“You cannot have a proud and chivalrous spirit if your conduct is mean and paltry; for whatever a man’s actions are, such must be his spirit.
Demosthenes”
This was also a small registered day care center called “Pammy’s Day Care”, although this was only mentioned in the early articles about the incident.
http://www.foxkansas.com/news/local/story/Toddler-Drowns-In-Northwest-Wichita/hJK9j1pC6UiToDprsj8Ujg.cspx?rss=86
If you click “Map of the scene” in the story, you can actually zoom in to see the layout of the backyard with the play area and pool before it was removed.
My guess is that the officer’s defense will be that he felt the grandmother was not performing the resuscitation correctly and that he knew trained resources were arriving.
This is an example of total mental midgets trying to cover their backsides after causing the death of a child. Who in their right mind would stop a grandmother from performing a life saving procedure? What happened to serve and protect? This guy and his chief need to find another area of work and the city needs to pay out alot of money to this family.
I love this blog, but the more I visit the more depressed I get. Why is it called common sense, when it seems to be in such short supply?
Thanks, Stel. That is why I should one cute animal picture every Sunday.
“A deputy chief with the department says right now there is no evidence the officer did anything wrong. The chief says some officers are trained in CPR while others aren’t.”
What does that mean? If he wasn’t trained in CPR then he should let the grandmother continue until paramedics arrived. If he was trained, then he should have immediately given it until the paramedics arrived.
This isn’t a gray area. It’s wrong–morally and legally.
He would have had to shoot me.
What is it with the police daze … are they in competition to see who can be the worst possible human being?
It hurts the reputation of the good police officers, who used to be in the majority.
I recently heard one sheriff say that 9/11 changed everything, including the 4th and 5th Amendments!
There is something inhuman in these stories of police officers stopping family from saving family. I wonder what the officer would have done if she ignored him. I do not wonder what a jury would do to the officer who stopped her.