PALOS PARK, Illinois — Two Palos Park police officers were recognized by village officials after a May medical emergency in which officials said CPR and an AED helped save a woman’s life.

The Regional News reported that Officer Bob Kotsianis and Officer Scott Van Wagner were honored during the June 22 village council meeting at the Kaptur Center.

Police response to a cardiac emergency

According to the report, Police Commissioner Dan Polk said police were summoned to a home on 126th Street after a woman, whose name was not released, was having a heart attack.

Polk said Kotsianis was first to arrive, determined the woman was in cardiac arrest and began lifesaving CPR, according to The Regional News.

The report said an automatic external defibrillator was brought to the scene, and Van Wagner joined Kotsianis in providing CPR and using the AED. Polk said the officers worked together to restore the woman’s pulse before fire district personnel arrived.

“Their actions reflect on their exemplary work in the finest tradition of police service,” Polk said, according to the report.

Village leaders thanked the officers

The Regional News reported that the woman was transported to Palos Northwestern Hospital. Mayor Nicole Milovich-Walters thanked the officers during the recognition, saying their quick thinking helped save the woman’s life.

For Support Law Enforcement readers, the story is a clear example of how routine patrol work can turn into a medical emergency in seconds — and how CPR training, an AED and coordinated response can matter before an ambulance crew reaches the scene.

Sources reviewed

Editorial note: ThinBlueNews relied on source-reported facts, used a real meeting photo with attribution, limited private medical details to what the source publicly reported, and used no AI-generated rescue or officer imagery. No paid promotion, DMs or outbound messages were used.