To the Editor,

In today’s society, time could mean life or death, especially pertaining to

cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The most important part of CPR is compressions; the

faster they are started, the chance of survival increases for the person receiving them. A CPR

certification lasts up to two years before renewal training is required. Recertification assures

that people stay up to date on techniques and procedures.

It is often overlooked that many police departments throughout the country do not

require CPR certification for their officers. Through research, I have found that recruits in the

police academy are required to be certified in order to graduate, but do not have to be

recertified once in the police force. In Ohio, there is no state law requiring the recertification of

CPR for police officers and it is therefore up to the department’s discretion to make CPR

recertification mandatory. New York recently passed a law on this issue called Briana’s Law,

mandating all police officers in New York to stay current with CPR training. This issue came to

light after Briana’s mother was pulled over on their way to the hospital. Briana was having an

asthma attack and the police officer did not know how to administer CPR. Unfortunatley, Briana

died shortly after arriving at the hospital. This is an important issue being that police officers

are usually the first on the scene and have the potential to give CPR until emergency medical

service (EMS) arrives, as long as there is no emanate danger to the officer. I live in Trumbull

County and would like to see my county and state make a progressive movement towards 100

percent mandatory CPR certification.

Sincerely,

Anthony DeVengencie