By KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer
As Edison Police Sgt. Michael Carter reported to the Middlesex County Courthouse in New Brunswick for jury duty last week, his police training kicked into gear when he helped save the life of another potential juror.
With help from a female juror, Carter administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to a 68-year-old South Plainfield man who collapsed from an apparent seizure in a jury pool waiting room at 2 p.m. on Sept. 22.
“My training just kicked into gear,” he said. “Thankfully, I was in the right place at the right time for this gentleman.”
Carter, an 18-year police veteran, is a dayshift supervisor for the Edison Police Department’s road patrol.
The off-duty officer administered CPR until sheriff’s officers brought a portable defibrillator into the jury room, which the sergeant used to resuscitate the man before emergency medical technicians from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick arrived to transport him to the hospital.
The victim was conscious and listed in stable condition last week.
“I am very proud of Sgt. Carter for stepping up to help this man,” said Police Chief Thomas Bryan. “Our department places a premium on training its officers. His swift, lifesaving actions and professionalism are the clear result.”