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OPS Officer Jason Lytle (back left) and Sgt. Derek Watts (back right), with WIU Graduate Student Jonathon Gatesman and WIU President Jack Thomas. Lytle and Watts are credited with saving Gatesman's life after he collapsed on campus.
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Officers Receive Commendation for Saving Student's Life

May 11, 2012

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MACOMB, IL – March 28 started out like any other day for Western Illinois University Master of Fine Arts graduate theatre student Jonathon Gatesman, and it was just another routine morning patrol for Office of Public Safety (OPS) Officer Jason Lytle and Sgt. Derek Watts. Until a 9-1-1 came in for help in Simpkins Hall.

Officer Lytle responded to the scene and discovered that Gatesman was lying on the floor and didn't have a pulse. Relying on his medical training -- and quick thinking -- Lytle began CPR. Upon Watts' arrival to the scene, Lytle deployed an AED (automated external defibrillator), which is standard equipment in all OPS vehicles, while Watts and a bystander continued CPR until McDonough District Hospital and Macomb Fire Department rescue squads arrived and took over. Because of Lytle's and Watts' swift action, Gatesman, who was life-flighted to a Peoria hospital and put in an induced coma, made a full recovery and is set to graduate from Western Friday, May 11.

"Because of the quick response by Officer Lytle and Sgt. Watts, and the use of training and equipment provided to our officers, Jonathon's life was saved," said OPS Interim Director Tom Clark.

WIU President Jack Thomas, along with Clark and Gatesman, presented the officers with letters of commendation for their actions. This is the third time that Officer Lytle has been called upon to use an AED while on duty.

"I am so grateful to Officer Lytle and to Sgt. Watts, as well as the emergency personnel from MDH and the fire department," Gatesman said. "I attribute my full recovery to these officers' actions and to the local emergency workers."

While the officers working at Western wear many hats and juggle a multitude of responsibilities, their job first and foremost is to ensure the safety and security of more than 14,500 students, faculty and staff and numerous campus visitors. The 25 fulltime police officers are trained in CPR and the use of AEDs. The Office of Public Safety is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week on the WIU-Macomb campus.

For more information on OPS, visit wiu.edu/ops.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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