Please join us in congratulating CCPD School Resource Officer Gene Raphael on receiving the Lifesaving Award, one of the Department’s highest honors.

On March 3rd, 2021 while Officer Raphael was working as the School Resource Officer at Oasis Elementary North, he was notified by staff that a student was choking on his food. Officer Raphael quickly responded and found the student coughing and vomiting.

Despite the student’s condition, the student was able to indicate that he had food stuck in his throat. Officer Raphael assisted the student to his feet and proceeded to perform abdominal thrusts in an attempt to dislodge the stuck food.

Officer Raphael’s abdominal thrusts worked, and the student coughed up the obstruction. The student began breathing normally and was able to resume his day without further medical care. Officer Raphael notified the school nurse and the student’s parents of the incident.

Without Officer Raphael’s quick and effective actions, the outcome of this incident could have been tragic. For this reason, Officer Raphael received the Lifesaving Award from Chief Tony Sizemore.