Cedar Rapids Police Officer Honored for Climbing Stopped Train to Save Man

By Justin Foss, Reporter

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By Justin Foss

Story Created: May 15, 2010 at 8:47 PM CDT

Story Updated: May 15, 2010 at 11:55 PM CDT

CEDAR RAPIDS - As a police officer, Reid Lander knows any minute he could face a life or death situation. And that was the case on the afternoon of Friday, September 4, 2009.

The call - a man playing softball had a heart attack, didn't have any pulse and he wasn't breathing.

"I'm thinking I got to get there and see if I can do anything for this guy," said Lander.

Lander knew minutes counted, and each one that ticked by was not on that guy's side. The medical emergency was over there at the Tait Cummins Sports Complex. But when Lander got a quarter-mile away, a stopped train blocked his way.

"I don't know if you know that area around C Street, there's no good way around so you either wait or go through it," said Lander.

He wasn't going to wait, so he grabbed an Automatic External Defibrilator (AED) from his car.

"I climbed up over the train and ran the rest of the way over to the ballpark," said Lander.

The 47-year-old man from Illinois survived. He was taken to Mercy Medical Center and doctors credited Lander's fast response for helping him pull through.

This weekend, the Police Department honored Lander with a life-saving award. At the ceremony, some of the medical staff from that night at Mercy gave Lander a new AED to carry with him in his car.

"This is a thankless job, but some days you do something and it just has you feeling good, I don't think my feet came back to ground the rest of that night," said Lander.
It's just one day in his career, but he says it shows every day matters.

Lander was one of more than a dozen officers that received awards this weekend from the Cedar Rapids Police Department.

Next Article Search for Missing Man in Cedar River Will Resume Monday

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