‘Heroic:’ Putnam City Schools police officers perform life-saving CPR on colleague

 In December, a Putnam City Schools Police Officer collapsed while on duty, with his fellow officers stepping in to save his life.

Chief Mark Stout, Captain Greg Mauk, and Assistant Chief Herb Nelson were delivering Christmas presents in a metro neighborhood near 10th and Portland on December 18, when the unexpected occurred.

“The major, he just dropped right in front of me, and we had to start doing CPR on him, and while we’re doing CPR, our chief, he’s notifying dispatch and getting, you know, EMS there,” said Capt. Mauk.

Assistant Chief Nelson suffered a major heart attack. Chief Stout mentioned he had no pulse at the start of CPR.

“It was 20 minutes, but it seemed like hours, but it’s what we had to do,” Chief Stout said.

Assistant Chief Nelson is a father, friend, and proud servant of his community for 46 years. Those close to him describe him as selfless, going above and beyond for the department and those in need.

On Wednesday, Democratic Senate Minority Leader Julia Kirt learned about Captain Mauk and Chief Stout’s life-saving efforts, awarding them with commendations.

“With everybody’s thoughts and prayers, we’ll get him back to work,” Capt. Mauk said.

Assistant Chief Herb had triple bypass heart surgery this week. In recovery, doing well.