(STATEHOUSE) April 3, 2009 -City, town and county law enforcement personnel would be required to receive training on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and the Heimlich maneuver under a bill authored by Rep. Cleo Duncan (R-Greensburg). House Bill 1089 passed unanimously out of the Senate this week with no amendments and now heads to Gov. Mitch Daniels to be signed into law. "I would like to thank the Greensburg Chief of Police Bryan Heaton for bringing this issue to my attention," said Rep. Duncan. "It is our hope that we can help save more lives across the state. "CPR and Heimlich maneuver training are imperative to the safety of people our police officers serve, and since they are usually the first to respond, we need to ensure they are properly trained." Law enforcement officers are trained at police academies, but currently, Indiana has no law requiring them to stay up to date with proper CPR and Heimlich maneuver education. "Training procedures have changed over the years, which is all the more reason to require certain law enforcement officers to stay informed. For example, mouth-to-mouth resuscitation is no longer necessary. Teaching programs are now centered on compression resuscitations." While many of the law enforcement agencies stay up to date and continue to provide CPR and Heimlich maneuver education programs, it is important to public safety to keep current. Rep. Duncan encourages constituents to contact her with questions or concerns through e-mail at h67@in.gov, by calling the Statehouse at 1-800-382-9841 or by writing her at the Statehouse, 200 W. Washington St., Indianapolis, IN 46204. -30-
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