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Officer gets medal for saving heart attack victim

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

Peachtree City Police Cpl. Matthew Myers became the second officer to receive the medal of valor Thursday night for his actions to help save the life of a Peachtree City man who was having a heart attack.

After initially hearing the call go out to medic crews, Myers responded and used CPR along with the portable Automatic External Defibrillator in his patrol car to provide life-saving assistance to Harold Martelli, said Police Chief James Murray. Medics, who got there about four or five minutes after Myers, picked Martelli up from there and took him to the hospital, where he was later treated and released.

Murray presented the medal to Myers at Thursday night’s City Council meeting. Martelli was also on hand, and he met Myers for the first time since the officer helped save his life.

“I want to say thank you very much for saving my life,” Martelli said to Myers. “And I congratulate Peachtree City for having patrol cars with defibrillators and for recruiting these guys. He’s a quality recruit.”

Myers said he thought it was neat “to get an award for what I love to do so much.”

Myers also thanked Murray for making sure officers have the best equipment to save lives.

Murray noted that Myers and Martelli would now have a special bond that would remain the rest of their lives. The incident shows that it’s important to learn Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, commonly known as CPR, Murray added.