The Snoqualmie Tribe donated 200 automated external defibrillator (AED) units to local safety and government organizations.
Members of the tribe presented several AED devices to Eastside Fire and Rescue and to City of North Bend at North Bend Station 87 at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 3.
The tribe donated the devices after Councilmember Richard Zambrano heard on the radio that the previous King County Sheriff was asking for donations for their department to purchase AED units for the officers.
“The Sheriff told a story about one of his officers that pulled over a car and when he went up to the car, he saw a man hunched over the steering wheel. When the officer woke the man up, the man jumped out of the car and attacked the officer and beat him up,” Zambrano said. “The officer had called for backup and when they arrived, the officer didn’t get up. One of those officers had an AED with him and was able to save his life.”
The story prompted Zambrano and Snoqualmie Tribe Chief of Police Gene Fenton to present the idea of donating AED devices to local emergency responders to the Tribal Council.