Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office deputies were honored with the Life Saving Award during a recent Board of Commissioners meeting for their heroic acts in December 2023.
Sgt. Shawn Giles, with Deputies Jeff Shields and Mark Greene, in the Court Services Division, were assigned to the courtroom where Superior Court Judge Bert Poston was conducting a hearing and suddenly collapsed.
Giles jumped over the judge’s bench to Poston’s aid, where he and Deputies Shields and Greene carried him to a private hallway to immediately begin CPR. They were able to get Poston breathing again and he began showing signs of responsiveness.
“The main thing we needed to do is get him breathing again,” said Giles. “We were very calm as things were moving rapidly, but this is what we’re trained to do and it’s what we did.”
Giles commended the Court Services team and the way they perfectly handled the emergency to provide aid to Judge Poston.
“Everybody did what they were supposed to do, from the most major to the most minor job, it was teamwork.”
EMTs arrived to take Poston to Hamilton Medical Center (HMC) where he was evaluated and airlifted to Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga.
Medical professionals with HMC and Memorial Hospital both reported if it weren’t for the heroic acts of the deputies, Poston would not have made it. Their quick action and professional training led to saving his life.
“It was quite impressive the way they handled the situation,” said Sheriff Scott Chitwood. “It doesn’t happen every day but on this particular day it happened perfectly.”
Poston’s family reported he has been moved to a rehab facility and is recovering very well.
The collective efforts of the Whitfield County Court Services Division emphasize the importance of training, teamwork and the invaluable commitment to protecting and serving the community.