4 Miami-Dade officers honored for saving lives using automatic external defibrillators

MIAMI – Four officers with the Miami-Dade Police Department on Thursday were honored for saving lives today, and their efforts can serve as a model for others who need to provide emergency help to someone in distress.

The officers used automatic external defibrillators to revive a local county official who suffered a potentially fatal heart attack.

The two officers were honored with the Unexpected Hero Award while Officers Ariel Trigo and Officer Douglas Melendez were also recognized for an Everyday Hero Award for using an AED in 2020 to save a woman’s life. 

Officer Shelton Green recalled what happened when he had to respond quickly to save the life of Tony Quintero, assistant director of the Miami International Airport, during a public meeting.

“It happened to be one of those meetings where it was packed full of people,” he said, adding that he had recognized Quintero’s face. “It’s kind of funny. I see him . . . a lot of times, but I didn’t know him personally.”

Quintero was at the Stephen P. Clark Center while attending a Miami-Dade County Board Meeting on Oct. 18.

“I remember saying, ‘I feel dizzy,'” he said. “And mind you, I’m a healthy guy. I bike (and) my cholesterol is nothing.”

The last thing Quintero remembers from that day was making his way through security in the lobby.

“I saw Mr. Quintero walking through the metal detectors and I saw him collapse in front of me,” Officer Joandra Dobao said.

Officers Dobao and Green were at the police substation and rushed over.

“He stopped breathing and turned purple within seconds,” said Dobao, who began chest compressions while Green ran to his car for an automated external defibrillator. They used it to deliver a shock to Quintero’s heart.

“I had what they call a widow-maker heart attack, which is probably one of the worst ones you can have,” Quintero told CBS4.

If the officers had just waited for paramedics to arrive, he may not have survived. Quintero was later rushed to the hospital for an emergency procedure.

“They put in a stent,” Quintero said.

Damian Dollard with Zoll, the company that provides AEDs to some of Miami’s public buildings, said once someone finds an AED and turns it on they will receive step-by-step instructions on what to do.

While almost anyone can use an AED effectively, it was two Miami-Dade Police officers who stepped in to help save Tony Quintero’s life.

“I’m here for my family, my wife, my child, because of their actions,” Quintero concluded.