On February 20, the family of Robert Ridley, who suffered a heart attack almost a year to the day, visited Rickmansworth Police Station to present officers with the two new defibrillators.
The defibrillators have been donated to Three Rivers’ Police in Robert’s memory after he sadly died on February 21, 2019, despite doctors’ best efforts.
Four police officers from Three Rivers’ Intervention and Response Team were first on the scene, bringing them an Automated External Defibrillator, and began to use the machine to give Robert CPR until paramedics arrived.
The 61-year-old was taken to Watford General Hospital but despite doctors’ best efforts he sadly passed away.
The team gratefully received the two new potentially life-saving AEDs, which will become part of the response equipment kit used by all four of the Three Rivers Police Intervention and Response teams.
At Robert’s funeral people were invited to make donations towards the cost of a new defibrillator to honour his memory.
Robert’s daughter Laura said: “We are so grateful to the officers who came to Dad’s aid that night. They attended quickly and tried their best to save him using the defibrillator stored in the police car.
“We didn’t want another family to lose their loved one just because a defibrillator wasn’t available, so we made the decision to ask family and friends for donations towards the cost of a new AED for Three Rivers Police.”
Inspector Jinesh Solankee, leads the Three Rivers’ Intervention and Response Team 5 and also co-ordinates the maintenance of all defibrillators across the force.
He said: “We are very grateful to the friends and family of Robert Ridley for donating these two potentially-life saving pieces of equipment to us.
“Their kindness and generosity means that we can help protect even more people in our community, and we think it’s a wonderful way to honour Robert’s memory.”
Picture courtesy of Hertfordshire Police
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