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It was a typical hot summer Monday in late June, at the Regional Justice Center in downtown Las Vegas. The rush of people hustling to courtrooms to catch up from the pandemic slowdown was underway. At 8:50 a.m. on the 10th floor, a 72 year-old attorney, who was preparing for a hearing with a client, suffered an apparent heart attack and fell backwards. Judge Nancy Allf’s former law clerk Joe Dagher reacted immediately to call the marshals’ dispatch, and then 911. His actions saved crucial time. Marshal dispatchers Cherina Elfberg and Gemma Perez launched a coordinated emergency response, sent marshals to the scene and put in a call for emergency medical services.

A nearby Good Samaritan who observed the distressed attorney on the floor, responded to the commotion. The Good Samaritan announced himself as a registered nurse and began to assist with an assessment of the attorney’s condition. After determining the attorney had no pulse, the nurse began chest compressions while Marshal Tyrone Tillman raced for a defibrillator that he used to aid the attorney. He, Lt. Jeff Wooten and Marshal Joshua Parrot helped with CPR and performed two rounds with the defibrillator, while Marshal Aaron Kaleo and Marshal Juan Almaraz managed a crowd of onlookers that had gathered as the incident unfolded. After the second round of defibrillation, the distressed lawyer got a pulse and resumed breathing. Emergency medical technicians soon arrived on-scene and transported him for more in-depth treatment.

The swift, coordinated actions of the law clerk, dispatchers, marshals and the Good Samaritan saved a man’s life on what was an otherwise ordinary summer scorcher at the courthouse.

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