OREGON CITY, Ore.—At a recent annual awards ceremony, Sergeant Chris Koehnke and Officer Levi Losli were awarded the department’s Life Saving Medal.
In September of 2022, Ofc. Losli was dispatched to a call in which a woman reported that her ex-boyfriend was texting her that he was going to commit suicide. The suicidal individual told the caller that he was going to hang himself in his closet. The caller then provided an update that she had spoken with the male on the phone and he said that he was hanging himself “now.” She added that it sounded like he was “losing air” and the call then disconnected.
Officer Losli and Sergeant Koehnke responded to the male’s apartment and tried to contact him by knocking on his door and calling him on the phone. Getting no response and believing that the male was inside and in danger, they made the decision to enter the apartment. Officer Losli and Sergeant Koehnke made their way to a bedroom and found the male in his closet; he had tied one end of a sheet to a rod in the closet and the other end around his neck. The officers untied the sheet and determined that the male was unconscious and not breathing. Officer Losli started performing CPR and the male began gasping and struggling to breathe. Sergeant Koehnke then utilized an Ambu bag and mask to help the patient breathe until paramedics arrived. The male regained consciousness and was transported to a hospital for treatment.
If Sergeant Koehnke and Officer Losli had not entered this individual’s apartment and immediately rendered medical aid, he would most likely not have survived his suicide attempt. Because of their extraordinary actions, Sergeant Koehnke and Officer Losli have been awarded the Life Saving Medal.