Chief Joseph O’Connor is pleased to announce that four members of the Concord Police Department received lifesaving awards from the Municipal Police Training Committee (MPTC) yesterday. Officer Brian Soll, Officer Michael Burgess, Officer Sylvia Toumayan and Dispatcher Timothy McGonagle received First Responder Recognition Awards during a ceremony on June 8 at 10 a.m. at Bentley University.

Every year, MPTC recognizes police officers and dispatchers for going above and beyond the call of duty by rendering medical assistance to a save a person’s life.

I want to commend Officers Soll, Burgess and Toumayan, and Dispatcher McGonagle for their life saving actions. Their work is consistent with the police department’s mission to deliver exceptional service all of the time.

Two members of the Concord Police Department earned their awards for their work during a call on April 9. That morning, Concord dispatch received a call for a medical emergency in front of Colonial Inn in Monument Square. The caller indicated that a person was possibly suffering from a heart attack.

Officers Soll and Burgess responded to the area. Upon arrival, Officer Soll located a man on the ground and immediately began performing CPR while Officer Burgess attached an AED. Officers Soll and Burgess continued rendering aid to the victim until a Concord ambulance arrived. The man later regained a pulse and made a full recovery.

On June 6, 2016, Officer Toumayan was dispatched to the Middlesex School for a report of a man having a seizure. Upon arrival, Officer Toumayan located a 48-year-old man who was not breathing and had no pulse. She immediately connected her AED and also began CPR until the Concord Fire Department arrived on scene. The man later made a full recovery.

On Dec. 18, 2016, Dispatcher McGonagle was the only person on duty in the Dispatch Center when he received a 911 call from a woman reporting her 16-month-old son was not breathing. Immediately recognizing the severity of the incident, Dispatcher McGonagle calmly asked the woman to stay on the line while he obtained her information and sent an ambulance to the woman’s home. He also gave CPR instructions to the mother over the phone, and after several compressions, the mother reported the baby had started breathing. Dispatcher McGonagle remained on the phone with the woman until EMS arrived.

Officer Brian Soll

Officer Michael Burgess

Officer Sylvia Toumayan    

Dispatcher Timothy Mcgonagle