911 dispatcher on lunch break identifies missing person, performs CPR on overdose victim the next day
Dispatchers are used to playing a pivotal role in saving people's lives over the phone.
But for one operator with the Windsor Police Service, he never expected to see two emergency situations play out right out in front of his eyes, putting him on the opposite side of a 911 call.
The first incident happened during a late-night shift on Sunday, May 28.
Michael Hutchinson, working in Windsor Police Headquarters as a dispatcher, took his lunch break around 3 a.m., before driving himself to the nearby Tim Hortons on Park Street East to grab a coffee.
That's when he recognized a man sitting next to his vehicle who "looked like he needed help." Something about that man looked familiar to Hutchinson.
"We did have a call for a missing person ... So I contacted the sergeant that was in charge of the investigation and, sure enough, he checked on the man and identified him as our missing person."
Hutchinson explained he was able to identify the man from the missing report because he had "some pretty distinct features."
"So it was pretty easy to recognize him," he said.
Mike Hutchinson is a Windsor police 911 communicator who found a missing person and helped save a life. (Source: Windsor Police Service)
But while Sunday's incident was pretty straightforward, Monday night was much more chaotic.
On May 29 around 4:30 a.m., Hutchinson parked his vehicle near the parking garage on Goyeau Street across from police headquarters for another late-night coffee run.
"A man just came up and knocked on my window. I thought he was just going to ask me a question," he explained.
It turns out another person nearby was experiencing an overdose and the man needed Hutchinson to call 911.
"Ambulance has a very specific set of questions they have to ask to triage their patients. I went over to assess the male, with the ambulance person on the phone," said Hutchinson.
"They said, 'You need to start CPR now to preserve this person until the ambulance arrives.' So that's what I did."
Hutchinson estimates he performed CPR for a couple minutes before emergency personnel arrived on the scene.
Const. Adam Young shared the story of Hutchinson's acts of heroism on Windsor police's social media accounts and said the entire force is very proud of his ability to step up in back-to-back incidents.
"I felt like he was almost putting us out of a job," Young said with a laugh. "He's answering calls. Now, he’s helping us on the street."
Young advises any individual who witnesses someone in similar situations of distress to never ignore them and, instead, call 911 immediately.
"Obviously, we have our 911 number if it’s an emergency — or the non-emergency number if you’re not sure. One of our officers will come out and assess the situation and deal with it accordingly," said Young.
As for Hutchinson, he credits his role as a 911 dispatcher, along with his past experience as an Army Cadet and Windsor police auxiliary officer, for knowing exactly what to do when a crisis played out in front of his eyes.
"It's nice — but I hope I did what any other person would have done."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW After hearing thousands of last words, this hospital chaplain has advice for the living
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
BREAKING Police cordon off Iran consulate in Paris where man threatens to blow himself up: French media
French police cordoned off the Iranian consulate in Paris on Friday, where a man was threatening to blow himself up, Europe 1 radio and BFM TV.
Some Canadian families will receive up to $620 per child today
More money will land in the pockets of some Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit installment.
BREAKING Iran fires at apparent Israeli attack drones near Isfahan air base and nuclear site
An apparent Israeli drone attack on Iran saw troops fire air defences at a major air base and a nuclear site early Friday morning near the central city of Isfahan, an assault coming in retaliation for Tehran's unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
Ottawa to force banks to call carbon rebate a carbon rebate in direct deposits
Canadian banks that refuse to identify the carbon rebate by name when doing direct deposits are forcing the government to change the law to make them do it, says Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault.
Ontario woman loses $15,000 to fake Walmart job scam
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
After COVID, WHO defines disease spread 'through air'
The World Health Organization and around 500 experts have agreed for the first time on what it means for a disease to spread through the air, in a bid to avoid the confusion early in the COVID-19 pandemic that some scientists have said cost lives.
Prince Harry formally confirms he is now a U.S. resident
Prince Harry, the son of King Charles III and fifth in line to the British throne, has formally confirmed he is now a U.S. resident.