Don O’Neill: Thank you, Snoqualmie Tribe, for putting community first

We want to thank the Snoqualmie Tribe because they heard something on our show and they took action.

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King County Sheriff John Urquhart joined the show a number of weeks ago, and he told us about a deputy who was arresting a DUI suspect when a scuffle ensued. He and others took the guy down to the ground and put handcuffs on him.

“Everybody got up except our officer, because he’d had a heart attack, and for all practical purposes he was either dead or dying,” Urquhart told us. “And one of our other deputies pulled an AED out of his trunk and administrated two to three shocks and brought him back. He is now recovering and I expect he will be back to work before not too long.”

Urquhart told us how the deputy was trying to raise enough money to equip every squad car with these life-saving devices. Someone from the Snoqualmie Tribe heard the segment, stepped up and donated all 150 AED machines to the KCSO. They also bought enough AEDs to outfit all of their tribal police cars and added additional ones in their casinos – so in all, 200 AED machines!

“Basically, because of Ron and Don, we put 200 AEDs in circulation in King County,” Urquhart told us. “That’s just huge.”

But this is not about us. This is hundreds of thousands of dollars. The Snoqualmie Tribe didn’t ask to be thanked but we heard about this and we just want to thank them for being part of something bigger than themselves. They are the ones to be thanked tonight. They are going to save a lot of lives on the reservation and off. And First Responders are going to be able to really first respond.