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St. Joseph honors first responders and awards Medal of Valor after two separate rescues
Summary
At its June 16 meeting the St. Joseph City Council recognized citizens and emergency personnel who used an AED and CPR on Jan. 5 to revive John Coughlin and presented a Medal of Valor to off‑duty Officer Vic Weiss for intervening in a March 8 assault; officials emphasized bystander CPR, AED access and coordination with county deputies.
The St. Joseph City Council used its June 16 meeting to recognize two separate acts of public service: a January cardiac‑arrest rescue at Kennedy Community School and an off‑duty intervention on a city trail in March.
Deputy Chief Matt Johnson introduced a group of police, fire and citizen responders who helped save a man who collapsed while playing pickleball on Jan. 5. John Coughlin, the patient, attended the meeting with family and told the council he is “forever grateful and thankful for every single one of you in this room” for the care he received. According to Johnson, Officer Travis Mandershide found rescuers performing CPR and an AED already in place; after additional shocks and continued CPR the patient regained a pulse and was later discharged from the hospital.
Paul Mendoza, owner of Advanced First Aid, presented plaques to bystanders and agency personnel for their role in the rescue and highlighted the role of bystander action and AED placement. “People who don't wait for help, but become the help, who step in during emergencies...can make a difference,” Mendoza said, stressing that early defibrillation and CPR increase survival.
Separately, Chief Dwight Venison described events of March 8 when off‑duty Officer Vic Weiss encountered a victim who had been assaulted on the Wooliggon Trail, called dispatch repeatedly and confronted a suspect. Venison said Weiss subdued the suspect despite suffering multiple fractures to his right hand and a fractured foot, holding the suspect until Sterns County deputies and St. Joseph officers arrived. The council presented Weiss with a Medal of Valor for his off‑duty actions.
Council members and staff used both presentations to underscore emergency‑response coordination among St. Joseph Police, St. Joseph Fire and Rescue, county deputies and ambulance personnel. The council also acknowledged several named citizens who assisted at the school incident and thanked agencies involved in transport and hospital care.
The awards presentation closed with the mayor and council thanking responders and urging continued public access to AEDs and CPR training.
