On Monday afternoon the Carroll County Preparedness Coalition was proud to present a total of sixteen LifePak CR Plus AED units, also known as automated external defibrillators, which were distributed to four Carroll County Law Enforcement Agencies. The Coon Rapids and Manning Police Departments each received two devices, the Carroll Police force accepted three, and the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office received nine AED units; one for each patrol car. Carroll County Ambulance Director Pat Gray says the increased access to an AED device could mean the difference between life and death as many times law enforcement officers are first on the scene.
All officers will receive operation training for the LifePak units, but the devices themselves are also be able to guide operators through each life-saving step.
Once paramedics arrive at the scene, Gray says, a patient can then be easily switched over to equipment onboard the ambulance.
Each law enforcement vehicle at each agency will be outfitted with an AED device with the exception of Carroll’s six squad cars. For now only three vehicles will be equipped. The hope is to purchase three more units in the near future so that all six Carroll police cars will then be equipped. The LifePak’s were purchased with funds from a matching grant of $21,000 with 75% paid by the Coalition and the remaining 25% funded by the law enforcement agencies.
