Man Saved By Tarrant County Employees After Heart Attack
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – A security camera captured the life-saving actions of two Tarrant County Sheriff's supervisors inside the Curry Criminal Justice Center Monday morning as dozens of jurors piled in.
Marion Amick, Jr. was a juror, waiting in line to go through security about 8:45 Monday morning. Video from a camera mounted near the south entrance of the building though shows Amick started to teeter, before he collapsed backward toward the door.
"He was unconscious, his eyes were open, his pupils were fixed," said sheriff's spokesman Terry Grisham. "That's every look of a dead body."
Sheriff's office employees working security detail, radioed the incident to supervisors who have an office nearby. Lt. Floyd Heckman ran to the scene, assessed Amick's condition, and started CPR.
Video shows him repeatedly compressing Amick's chest. Sgt. Jerry Brown then grabbed an automated external defibrillator installed on the wall just a few feet away. The device tells the operator if it is safe to use. Brown said it told him to shock Amick, and he did.
The machine then said to resume CPR. Firefighters and paramedics arrived on scene and took over CPR. Brown and Heckman said Amick started to cough, and then essentially, came back to life.
Minutes after collapsing, the 47-year-old wanted to sit up, and was talking.
"He said he woke up and 'I couldn't figure out why all these people were looking at me'!" said his mother, Wanda Shelton.
What sheriff's employees and medics could have never known is the man they saved has made a life out of keeping people safe.
Amick is a Marine who served 13 years in infantry and aviation. He was working private security at a church when Pat Lamb met him. Lamb directs security and operations for Irving ISD.
He hired Amick to be his security supervisor over 46 employees in the district.
"The deputies were present when they were present," said Lamb. "They were alert. They knew what to do. They absolutely saved Marion's life. We appreciate that."
Shelton said her son was staying at JPS Hospital in Fort Worth overnight. She said he had no history of heart problems and showed no signs of problems Monday night other than a sore chest from the CPR.
"I think they did a very good job, and I'm just thankful," she said. "Thank God he was there."
