May 6, 1986

Life-saving dispatcher given commendation

       A Greenwood Police Department dispatcher credited with saving the life of a choking two year old White River Township boy was honored by Greenwood City Council members Monday night.  John Brinkman, a full time dispatcher with the department since October 1985, was recognized for his calm instructions that helped save Brian Ooley’s life.  Greenwood Police Chief Charles Henderson played an emotional recording of the conversation Brinkman had with Brian’s mother, Barbara Ooley.  Ooley phoned Greenwood police about 6 p.m. April 20 and told Brinkman her son was choking on a piece of candy and was turning blue.  White River Volunteer Fire Department Assistant Chief Pat McDaniel said the boy’s father, Danny Ooley, had attempted the Heimlich maneuver to remove the candy, but it did not work.

         Brinkman instructed the woman to place the child over his father’s lap and then gently hit the child on the back between the shoulder blades to dislodge the candy.  Ooley shouted the instructions to her husband while Brinkman soothed the woman and told her to stay calm.  A second dispatcher, Rick Jones, called for White River Township rescue workers to go to Ooleys’ house while Brinkman was talking to Mrs. Ooley.  During the conversation, the child coughed up the candy.  White River Volunteer Fire Department rescue workers arrived at 6:09 p.m. to find the child breathing normally.  McDaniel wrote Henderson a letter about Jones’ and Brinkman’s handling of the crucial call.  Brinkman is an EMT who has worked for the Greenwood Volunteer Fire Department and Myers Ambulance Service in Greenwood.
 
 

---