Patrol officer suffers medical emergency, 3 inmates on road project help him, North Carolina sheriff's office says

When a patrol officer supervising inmates on a road project had a medical emergency, a lot more could have gone wrong.Rather than flee, the North Carolina inmates stopped traffic and got help, the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office reported.When the officer appeared to have a stroke, three inmates who were picking up trash took his cellphone, called 911 and waited for authorities and EMS to arrive, the Bladen Journal reported.James Smith suffered a medical condition on Peanut Road in Elizabethtown, located between Fayetteville and Wilmington, the sheriff’s office reported."When you see no other reason — try to do anything else crazy or outrageous, so why not help him?" inmate Frank Edens Jr. said, WWAY-TV reported.The sheriff’s office said Thursday it hopes for a speedy recovery for Smith and hopes to have him return soon. Meanwhile, the three men were honored for their efforts: “Those inmates stood by with Mr. Smith and stopped traffic to get help for him,” the sheriff’s office said.“We would also like to thank the three inmates for standing by with Mr. Smith when (there) were so many other options they could have taken.”

When a patrol officer supervising inmates on a road project had a medical emergency, a lot more could have gone wrong.



Rather than flee, the North Carolina inmates stopped traffic and got help, the Bladen County Sheriff’s Office reported.


When the officer appeared to have a stroke, three inmates who were picking up trash took his cellphone, called 911 and waited for authorities and EMS to arrive, the Bladen Journal reported.

James Smith suffered a medical condition on Peanut Road in Elizabethtown, located between Fayetteville and Wilmington, the sheriff’s office reported.

"When you see no other reason — try to do anything else crazy or outrageous, so why not help him?" inmate Frank Edens Jr. said, WWAY-TV reported.

The sheriff’s office said Thursday it hopes for a speedy recovery for Smith and hopes to have him return soon.

Meanwhile, the three men were honored for their efforts: “Those inmates stood by with Mr. Smith and stopped traffic to get help for him,” the sheriff’s office said.

“We would also like to thank the three inmates for standing by with Mr. Smith when (there) were so many other options they could have taken.”