WESTBOROUGH – The Westborough Police Department now has seven new AEDs thanks to a donation from the nonprofit Six10.
Six10 presented the devices to Chief Jeffrey Lourie during a Select Board meeting on March 22.
They made the donation in memory of Brian Mullin, 54, who passed away in September. Mullin was a Westborough resident. His family was at the Select Board meeting.
“[Mullin’s] story is all too familiar,” said Six10 co-founder Erika Greenwood.
“His passing is a tragic reminder that we must continue forward in our mission to equip all on duty patrol vehicles in the state of Massachusetts with AEDs,” she continued.
Erika and her sister, Jessica Skole, started Six10 with their mother, Denise, after their father, David, passed away in 2017.
“He was an active man with no health issues,” Skole said during the meeting.
David woke up on June 10, 2017 and went for a bike ride. He returned home, took his helmet off and put the kickstand down on his bicycle.
He then collapsed.
“I found my dad and I immediately started CPR alongside my mother as we waited for first responders,” Skole said.
A police officer was the first emergency official to respond. Skole said she told the officer that they needed his AED. But he didn’t have one.
“I was absolutely devastated as my world began to shatter,” Skole said.
Skole, who is an EMT, said she knew an AED was the only thing that could save her father’s life. By the time the paramedics arrived and placed that AED on his chest, there was no shockable rhythm.
Erika noted that officers are typically the first on scene before the ambulance.
“With the use of an AED, officers would be able to immediately spring into life saving action,” Erika said. “They would be able to give an individual and their families a better chance at a happy ending.”
Lourie thanked the Six10 family for the donation.
While the department previously had an AED, it was in the supervisor’s vehicle.
“Now we’re going to have [these for] almost all of our cruisers that are on patrols,” Lourie said.
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