An east Auckland police employee has been recognised for his heroic and potentially life-saving actions.
Police Authorised Officer Yohaan Khambatta recently received a District Operation Manager’s Commendation for his quick-thinking during a medical emergency earlier this year.
Khambatta and his sergeant were working in a secure area of the Manukau District Court’s custody unit when they were alerted to an unresponsive male detainee who’d fallen unconscious.
Khambatta and his sergeant raced to the area. Khambatta immediately began CPR on the detainee.
He continued to give first aid when ambulance staff arrived to take over.
Police say these steps taken by Khambatta resulted in the man returning to spontaneous breathing, potentially saving his life.
“I arrived at the scene moments after the emergency call to find a man lying on the ground looking unresponsive,” Khambatta says.
“I automatically thought of my training and my CPR training kicked in. I knew he only had minutes, which is why I needed to act fast.”
Detective constable Satvir Sen, who nominated Yohaan for the award, says: “Yohaan’s actions and interventions may have saved the man’s life.
“Throughout the whole process he displayed extreme professionalism and had the ability to remain calm and provide the level of care that was required in this emergency.
“Yohaan set a good example of performance for our partner agency.”
Police operations manager, Inspector Alison Brand, adds: “Yohaan’s response and leadership during this event was critical to the safe and effective first-aid given to the man, which I am sure assisted in saving his life.
“The award is thoroughly well-deserved, and I believe Yohaan’s peers and whānau will all be very proud of him.”
