Wheeling honors life-saving police officers

Wheeling Police Officer Ian Frey recently received two awards for saving lives in the village, and other members of the department were also honored.

Frey was the first person on the scene in October in the 1700 block of Ottawa Court answering a call that a 2-month-old premature baby was choking and not breathing. Frey immediately started CPR, and during the process the baby gasped for air twice.

"Officer Frey's CPR skills and quick thinking help to reduce the time the baby was without oxygen, possibly preventing any further danger to the infant," his citation said.

Officer Jeremy Hoffman assisted Frey with the CPR by delivering back blows to clear any obstruction and saved time by carrying the baby to the ambulance rather than waiting for the paramedics to enter the home.

"This quick thinking enabled the paramedics to quickly get a tube in the baby's throat so he was better able to breathe," said Hoffman's citation.

In July, Frey also used his CPR skills for a person with apparent cardiac arrest on a loading dock in the 1000 block of Chaddick Drive and provided other services in that emergency.

"Without your quick and appropriate actions, this patient's survival would have been unlikely," the village's citation said. "Because of Officer Frey's CPR skills and quick thinking, the patient was stabilized at the hospital and the outcome was positive."

Officer Michael Bieschke also performed CPR and provided other services for the person on the loading dock, and Sgt. Michael Conway was also mentioned in the citations for performing CPR.

In March, Officer Preston Robertson observed smoke coming from a parked car in the 1200 block of North Elmhurst Road in nearby Prospect Heights. The engine compartment was engulfed in flames. Despite loud music in the car, Robertson was able to awaken a person and get the person out before the passenger compartment was engulfed in flames.