Glenview Police Chief William Fitzpatrick recounted a dramatic event at the Village Board meeting Feb. 4. Many Glenview police had shown up for the occasion.
When Officer Mark Amerazian arrived for work on June 4, he parked in the police department’s lot off Shermer Road, Fitzpatrick said.
Driving by, fellow Officer Robert Fryc noticed that Amerazian was slumped in his vehicle, Fitzpatrick said.
“They were getting ready to hit the street and do their duty for the day,” he said. “Officer Fryc noticed that he was slumped and that seemed odd. Instead of driving by and moving on or getting about his task, he stopped and looked. He found Mark slumped over on his side, incoherent, and passing in and out.”
Fryc immediately called dispatch and relayed the information to Dispatch Supervisor Peter Simonetti, who began assembling a team to put in motion, Fitzpatrick said.
“Fortunately, our well-trained Fire Department, the best there is for emergency medical services, was close by,” he said. “They came. They performed lifesaving maneuvers before they could bring him to (Advocate) Lutheran General Hospital (in Park Ridge).”
At Lutheran General, doctors determined that Amerazian had suffered a brain aneurysm, the chief said.
“Without that quick work of everyone there, Mark would not be with us today with his family,” he said.
During a ceremony Tuesday presenting police and firefighters with plaques commemorating their service, Amerazian thanked his fellow public safety workers for saving his life.
“It is a true blessing to be standing here, to be alive and to be with my family,” he said. “There is no better feeling. I’m so proud to be a Glenview police officer and surrounded by the brave men and women of the fire department, police department and Glenview public safety dispatch (center).”
Amerazian attributed his colleagues’ successful rescue to teamwork.
“Everything worked out perfectly as a team,” he said. “Officer Fryc found me. I needed help. He radioed it in to dispatch. Dispatch got fire there. They gave me medical attention. They got me to the hospital. They saved my life. You guys are my heroes.”
Amerazian received a standing ovation in the board room after the statement.
He said police leadership has been looking after him since the incident.
“The supervisors I have at Glenview Police Department are a true blessing,” Amerazian said. “I thank the chief, the deputy chiefs, the sergeants. They always check to make sure I’m OK. It means more to me than you guys know. Thank you for being awesome supervisors.”
Village President Michael Jenny praised public safety employees for their service in saving Amerazian.
“You’ll often hear me say that Glenview has the best public safety teams around, and it’s easy for me to say because time again you all prove it to be true,” Jenny said.
Before the commendations, Fitzpatrick recalled his early days as a patrolman working under an “old, seasoned sergeant.”
“One day he said, ‘This job runs in cycles,’” Fitzpatrick recalled. “‘You can go out and work an eight-hour shift. For seven hours and 59 minutes you can have pure boredom, and all of a sudden you have 60 seconds of sheer terror. That’s the roller coaster ride you’ve signed up for. What you do in those 60 seconds defines you in the department.’”
Fitzpatrick said the same ethic is true today.
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“We want to recognize the work of first responders who came together through training, dedication, tenacity and teamwork to save a fellow responder’s life,” he said.
The public safety team members recognized Tuesday include:
- Dispatch Supervisor Peter Simonetti
- Battalion Chief Brian Bos
- Firefighter/Paramedic Adrian Pynenberg
- Firefighter/Paramedic Brad Becker
- Firefighter/Paramedic Lucas Marvin
- Firefighter/Paramedic Kevin Barnes
- Firefighter/Paramedic Andrew Hogan
- Sgt. Laurance Drish
- Officer Robert Fryc
- Officer Michael Mazur