A reserve police officer in Washougal on Tuesday left his post outside an apartment, where police were executing a search warrant, to help a young child who said his father was choking and couldn’t breathe.
The child led the officer, James Powers, to a nearby apartment, where he found a barely conscious adult male on the floor. The man’s face was turning purple, according to a news bulletin issued by the Washougal Police Department.
Powers, who works as a lead paramedic for American Medical Response, performed the Heimlich maneuver, dislodging an obstruction and allowing the man to start breathing again.
After saving the man’s life, Powers returned to the narcotics search, where police seized currency, marijuana and other drug paraphernalia.
The apartment complex was located in the 500 block of C Street in Washougal.
