10 Minutes, 2 Lives Saved: Mich. Officer Credited with Saving 2 Women

Nov. 13--TRAVERSE CITY -- Traverse City police Officer Adam Gray knows his night shift patrol can put him in a position to save a life, but he never expected to face two life-or-death situations back-to-back.

That's what happened Thursday night when Gray revived a woman from a potential overdose then helped stop another from committing suicide. The two incidents occurred within about 10 minutes of each other.

"In my experience, have I dealt with similar issues?" Gray said. "Yes, but not necessarily back-to-back."

An 11:05 p.m. call about a potential overdose at a home on Veterans Drive kicked off Gray's eventful evening. His supervising officer Sgt. Erich Bohrer said Gray arrived in time to see an unconscious woman, 21, being carried from the residence.

Bohrer said the officers learned the woman used heroin in the past. He said he went inside the home to search for drugs while Gray prepared a shot of naloxone, a drug that city police officers recently started carrying to reverse overdoses.

Gray injected the drug into the woman's thigh and saw an immediate effect.

"Upon doing so, she immediately took breath and she got on the ambulance," he said. "Once on the ambulance they were able to administer more medication which reversed the effects of the heroin overdose. Ultimately, she ended up surviving."

It's about that time -- 11:15 p.m. -- Gray and Bohrer received a call of a suicidal woman sitting on the railing of a downtown bridge. Bohrer sent Gray to the East Eighth Street bridge where it spans the bone-chilling Boardman River.

Cars and several passersby -- including an Alden man, 23, who tried to talk to the woman -- gathered in the cold evening rain while the woman squatted on a concrete ledge outside the bridge's south railing.

Gray recognized the woman an earlier call about a suicidal woman, 41, from Wellston, who walked away from Munson Medical Center's emergency room without shoes. He called her name.

"When I called her by name, she looked at me and kind of made a forward lunging motion as though she were preparing to jump into the river," he said.

Gray managed to grab the woman's vest, which was "soaked to the bone." The woman began thrashing and Gray asked the Alden man to help pull her over the railing. The received more help moments later when Grand Traverse County sheriff's Deputy Kevin Archer arrived.

"It wasn't easy," Gray said.

City police interim Chief Jeff O'Brien said the officers managed to handcuff the woman and return her to Munson Medical Center. He said Gray likely will receive an official commendation for both life-saving efforts.

"This is probably our third or fourth reversal that we've had since we got naloxone," O'Brien said.

In September, Bohrer used naloxone to reverse another suspected overdose. He also praised Gray's actions.

Gray said he took a moment to reflect on the night's events.

"We're sent to these calls. We just did what we're trained to do and, ultimately, it ended a good night for everyone involved," he said.

Copyright 2015 - The Record-Eagle, Traverse City, Mich.