MANHATTAN, N.Y. — An NYPD sergeant searching for a robbery suspect found the man passed out and immediately went into life-saving mode, according to WPIX.
Steven Davis, 49, allegedly stole about 50 pounds of nutritional drink Ensure from a CVS after taking a swing at a few employees, officials said. He took off north as officers flooded the area. Police caught up with him along 66th Street near Third Avenue.
Sgt. James Gebhard, who was the commanding officer coming to the scene, found Davis lifeless after an apparent heart attack.
“At first I thought he got hit by a car,” the sergeant said.
However, upon checking for a pulse, it was clear the likely culprit was a heart attack.
Gebhard began performing CPR, which is part of NYPD training, while the officer he was with called for an ambulance. He had to revive the man twice by the time paramedics arrived.
He then immediately went right back into law-enforcement mode, bringing a witness from the CVS over to positively ID the robber — and cross-reference surveillance video.
“I went from life saving to police work pretty quickly,” Gebhard said.
The suspect and sergeant who saved his life caught up a little bit later during booking at the 19th Precinct.
“He shook my hand and thanked me,” Gebhard said. “It could have gone one of two ways: he’d be upset with me that I arrested him or he’d be really happy with me that I rescued him.”
Davis is out on bail. Gebhard said with what happened a week ago, Davis promised him he is done with crime.
