Officers Eric Miles (l) and Larry Murray (r) together with the man they saved: Dan Walton who suffered a massive heart attack at the airport in January. 

Congratulations to our members at the Port of Seattle Police Department who were recognized for their outstanding service at the Department's awards ceremony last Thursday.

Three of our officers were honored with Life-Saving awards in two separate incidents.

Sergeant Dan Flynn, a Local 117 Shop Steward, quickly identified the symptoms of an extremely dangerous condition known as "excited delirium" in a disruptive passenger trying to board an Alaska Airlines flight in November 2014.

Flynn responded to the scene immediately, correctly diagnosed the individual, and requested medical assistance.

The medics were able to save the man's life, but only in the nick of time. The supervising medical officer said the man's temperature had skyrocketed to 104 degrees and he was moments away from death.

Sergeant Flynn's training and quick thinking led to the necessary medical intervention. As it turns out, the man was an Army veteran being treated for extreme PTSD. Flynn had saved the life of a veteran.

In a separate incident, Officers Larry Murray and Eric Miles performed life-saving CPR for several minutes on Dan Walton who had suffered a massive heart attack near the departures area in January.  

Walton spoke at the awards ceremony, expressing his gratitude for the officers' heroics. “If it wasn't for the people, the skills, the dedication, and the people in this room today, I wouldn't be here,” he said.

Sergeant Mark Tanga and Officer Cory Stairs received the Meritorious Service award at the ceremony for their many years of outstanding service. 

Congratulations to the award recipients and thank you to all of our officers at the Port of Seattle for your service to our community and for helping to keep us safe.