A Georgia sheriff will cut the sentences of the six inmates who helped to save the life of a deputy who hyperventilated last week.
READ: 6 Georgia Inmates Praised for Saving Life of Officer Who Passed Out
On June 12, a Polk County Sheriff’s Deputy fainted on a humid Georgia day during work detail at a local cemetery when the inmates immediately opened his shirt and removed his bulletproof vest so they could perform CPR, WXIA-TV reported.
Another inmate grabbed his phone and called 911.
In light of their right action, Polk County Sheriff Johnny Moats said he will take off about one-fourth of each of the inmates’ sentences.
“Anytime we have a trustee or inmate crew that goes beyond normal duties, we cut them some extra time off,” Moats said.
The sheriff’s deputy, who did not wish to be identified, suffers from a chronic Chiari malformation, in which the brain’s cerebellum is deformed, causing fluids to not flow through the brain properly.
The inmates and sheriff’s deputy know each other well from spending at least seven hours a day, five days a week together during work detail.
“We spend a lot of time together,” the deputy said.
That morning, the deputy wasn’t feeling well, and the inmates noticed that there was something wrong as well.
“I started coughing spells, and every time I got those, I’d get hotter,” the deputy said. “It was just harder to keep up … I just finally went down after a couple of minutes doing that.”
The deputy said that none of the inmates took advantage of a window of opportunity to escape.
“None of my guys ran,” the deputy said. “None of them did anything they shouldn’t have done.”
In addition to the shortened sentences, the inmates received a free lunch and nationwide praise for their heroic actions.
The deputy was taken off work detail and placed under patrol.
(H/T: WXIA-TV)