When the time came, Langley Police Officer Charlie Liggitt jumped into action, and his decisions helped save a life late last month.

His gun was never drawn and no handcuffs were used. Instead, Liggitt became an emergency responder and used his city-issued automated external defibrillator (AED) to aid the process of reviving a Langley man Dec. 23.

“I talked to one of the Whidbey General medics and he said if Charlie didn’t do it, the guy would’ve died,” said Langley Police Chief Dave Marks.

At some point during his Dec. 23 shift, around 8 or 9 p.m., Liggitt responded to an emergency call about a minute from city hall on Second Street. He arrived at the same time as a South Whidbey Fire/EMS responder, who began CPR on the man. The patient was not breathing and did not have a detectable pulse. As resuscitation was attempted, Liggitt prepared his AED, a $1,200 device equipped in every Langley Police Department vehicle.

Trained in first aid, CPR and the AED, Liggitt said the device talked them through the steps of attaching the wires to the man’s chest, waiting for a first reading, directing them to apply a shock, then analyzing again. As they waited, Whidbey General Hospital EMS personnel arrived to take over treatment.

“The training just kind of kicked in,” said Liggitt, who refused to consider himself a hero or lifesaver, instead saying he was only one piece.

“It was a whole teamwork thing,” he added.

Rob May, a paramedic and public education officer with Whidbey General Hospital EMS, said his department agreed that Liggitt played a crucial role in the emergency response process.

“I heard that if it weren’t for the Langley police officer and South Whidbey Fire/EMS, the resuscitation could have had a much different outcome,” May said. 

“It’s unusual, but it’s becoming more frequent,” he added, referring to a police officer administering the AED. “It’s extraordinary because for every one minute someone doesn’t receive a shock from an AED, it decreases the chance for survival by 10 percent.”

Liggitt was recognized Jan. 3 at the Langley City Council meeting for his quick-thinking and life-saving actions, an unusual but prepared-for aspect of life as a Langley police officer. The mayor and city council presented him with a certificate and a Mayor’s Excellence Award pin, the 36th issued by Mayor Fred McCarthy.

“It’s what I call meeting an exceptional challenge,” said McCarthy.

“Among all the things we have going on, when you have someone do something like that you realize the value of having an AED and a police officer trained.”

This was the first time since the police department obtained the devices, through a grant from Whidbey General Hospital EMS, that they were used, Marks said. Langley’s law enforcement often responds to medical emergency calls, though past responses have not required AED use.

“It seems like every time we have a heart attack we’re there too late or after there’s already somebody on scene,” Marks said. “The timing’s never right.”

Liggitt saw the act as an extension of Langley’s commitment to community policing, vastly different from the crime volume of other cities.

“Even if it’s someone who’s fallen, we try to get there,” Liggitt said.

The pin was at home, said Liggitt, and the certificate would stay in the police office at city hall.

“It’s nice to be recognized for helping others,” he said.

Correction: An earlier version incorrectly stated how the Langley Police Department obtained the AEDs and an incorrect cost.