Officer saves inmate from choking at Orleans prison

Press Release
New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association

ALBION – A quick-thinking veteran corrections officer administered the Heimlich maneuver on the inmate who was choking and barely breathing on Dec. 28, the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association reported.

Officer Michael Kropf, a 25-year veteran of the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, noticed that an inmate in the mess hall was choking and barely breathing at approximately 5:10 p.m. Officer Kropf ran to the inmate immediately. He assessed the situation, realized the inmate’s airway was obstructed and administered the Heimlich maneuver.

Initially he was unsuccessful in dislodging the obstruction. He administered the Heimlich maneuver a second time and was successful in clearing food that had lodged in the airway of the inmate.

The inmate, now able to breathe without restriction, was taken to the facility infirmary for treatment. He was then was transported to Medina Memorial Hospital for evaluation. He was treated, released and returned to the medium security prison on Gaines Basin Road.

“On behalf of the entire Executive Board at NYSCOPBA, I would like to commend Officer Kropf for his quick and alert actions on Dec. 28,” said said Mike Dildine, Western Region Vice President for NYSCOPBA. “Certainly his training paid off on that day and saved the life of the inmate. He is prime example of the good men and women who work inside our prisons and keep the citizens of New York safe.”