Busy Night for Williamstown Police Includes Life-Saving Moment

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Police Department on Wednesday evening had its hands full with several incidents, including one that allowed officers to help save a life.

 

Between 5 and 9 p.m., WPD officers responded to a three-car motor vehicle accident, calls involving domestic violence and one emergency on Williams College campus where the local police were the first on the scene, Chief Michael Ziemba said on Thursday.

 

The evening included deployment of the department's K9 Unit for tracking and one arrest.

 

"While the number and types of calls are fairly typical, or what some would call 'routine' for our police department, being able to say that we were part of a small team of people who helped to bring back a young life is not something that happens to us every day."

 

The life-threatening incident occurred during a Williams College athletic event, Ziemba said. An athlete from the visiting team had trouble breathing and chest pains.

 

WPD officers administered oxygen and began life-saving CPR until an EMS personnel arrived, he said.

 

An automatic external defibrillator was used three times on the student.