Windermere officers make life-saving rescues

By empowering excellence and building trust, the Windermere Police Department is committed to serving the community with unwavering dedication, placing honesty, integrity and service at the core of its mission. 

Recently, two WPD officers have gone above and beyond to fulfill that mission. 

In May, officers Jonathan Cassin and Ryan Miller deployed an Automated External Defibrillator on an elderly man having heart pains in his vehicle and saved his life. 

Almost exactly two months later, Cassin took off his duty gear in the middle of a thunderstorm to rescue people stranded on a boat. 

“These officers exemplified the type of culture that we’ve worked to develop here at the department,” WPD chief Dave Ogden said. “These guys really do care about the community, and they go above and beyond to help. They both took action and did what had to be done. I’m just really appreciative of it.”

HONOR

Cassin and Miller received a call referencing a man who appeared to be unconscious behind the wheel of his vehicle in the middle of the roadway at about 2:35 p.m. May 15, on East Sixth Avenue and Lee Street.

Upon arriving on the scene, the two officers approached the vehicle, a black 2020 Tesla, and found the man, later identified as Luther Pollok, unconscious behind the wheel.

“There were people around the car when we arrived, and we could see that Mr. Pollok was slumped over,” Miller said. 

The wife, Lisa Pollok, was in the passenger seat, as well as their cat,  and said her husband had stopped breathing and slumped over as they were driving down the road.

Miller performed a sternum rub and pulse check on Luther Pollok as Cassin retrieved the AED from the back of the patrol vehicle. 

When Cassin returned with the AED, Miller said Luther Pollok needed to be removed from the vehicle to perform CPR.

The officers removed Luther Pollock from the vehicle and began life-saving measures. 

Luther Pollok’s shirt was cut to deploy the AED, and the officers shared responsibilities in performing CPR and operating the AED. Luther Pollok was shocked three times, as advised by the AED.

“Most of the agencies aren’t carrying AEDs around in their vehicles,” Ogden said. “We have them where we put them in our patrol bags, and we’re going to expand that and make sure every vehicle has them. When minutes count, these guys were just a few seconds away.”

Ocoee Fire Department Engine 39 arrived on the scene at 2:45 p.m. and took over life-saving responsibilities.

Prior to being loaded into Orange County Ambulance Rescue 34, the Ocoee FD was able to restore Luther Pollok’s pulse.

Six minutes later, Luther Pollok arrived at Orlando Health — Health Central Hospital in Ocoee.

“It was a blur; it happened really fast,” Cassin said. Officers Cassin and Miller followed up with the hospital personnel, who stated Luther Pollok still had a pulse but remained unconscious.

Although the vehicle was released to Lisa Pollok, she did not know how to drive the Tesla, so the department also helped her get the vehicle home safely. 

“Lisa was very thankful,” Miller said. “We both followed up with her and made sure they were OK. They’re just thankful that we were there to help them, and that’s what does it for me. It’s not about the recognition but instead about helping others. It’s a big deal.”

Ogden echoed Miller’s thoughts.

“It’s a level of service we can provide that we take pride in,” he said. “They followed up with the couple for weeks. They were just as appreciative of that as they were when the incident took place. What we can offer here is different from most other departments.”

Luther and Lisa Pollok visited the department a few weeks later to personally thank the officers and even gave them gift cards to enjoy dinner.

“I wanted him to meet them, because they had a huge impact on our lives,” Lisa Pollok said. “If it wasn’t for them, he wouldn’t have made it.”

“We can’t thank them enough,” Luther and Lisa Pollok said. “They knew exactly what to do in the situation. They really didn’t have to follow up and check on us and put in all that additional help and care, but they did because they’re amazing men. They said they were just doing their jobs, but they truly went above and beyond.”

INTEGRITY 

Around 5:44 p.m. Sunday, July 14, Cassin received a call where dispatch advised there was a boat at the Lake Down Boat ramp that was struggling to make it up to the ramp because of severe weather.  

“I just so happened to park at the boat ramp down there, because the storm was coming in, and I wanted to make sure people were getting in and out of the water,” Cassin said. “I heard it come in over the radio that there was a boat stranded by the boat ramp.”

Cassin said he looked out and saw the boat, but there was no one waving or signaling distress.

The individual operating the boat did not have experience and was in control of the vessel as he waited for his friend to return with the boat trailer. A child who did not know how to swim also was on board.

“You couldn’t really see what was going on, because the weather was so bad,” Cassin said. “They were panicking a bit. I was like, ‘I have to go in and help.’”

Cassin entered in chest/shoulder deep water to assist in pulling the boat toward the ramp and assisted the operator with securing the boat to the ramp.  

Once the boat was secure, Cassin had the individuals sit in his patrol car for safety from the storm until it passed.

SERVICE

Miller has been with the WPD for almost 14 years and said his passion for law enforcement comes from being able to help people in critical situations.

“It means everything to us,” he said. “The residents here really appreciate us, which means a lot also.” 

Cassin started with the WPD in March and has served since 2008 in the U.S. Army. He has accumulated 16 years of dedicated military service and continues to maintain a reserve status with his unit based out of Sanford. He has undertaken multiple combat tours in Afghanistan and served as a recruiter from 2013 to 2017.

“I have military experience, so being able to help in a large-scale way was really nice, but being able to help on a smaller scale is so special and different,” he said. “It’s more personable with our community. We get to talk to all the people here every single day.”