PCPD Sergeant Aaron Howard was recently honored for his role in saving two individuals’ lives, one man who attempted suicide and another who experienced a massive heart attack. Vance Vowell, who lived through a heart attack often called the “widow maker,” thanked Howard for performing CPR on him for multiple minutes until medics arrived. Pictured from left are Chief Dale McKee, Howard, Vowell and Mayor Jody Carney.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Kayleen Petrovia)
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Plain City officials took a moment to honor the good work of its police officers – one who saved two lives in a short span, and two K9 officers who lost theirs after years of service.
Plain City Police Department Chief Dale McKee presented Sergeant Aaron Howard on Monday with two life-saving awards.
McKee said the first was earned on Sept. 7.
While on patrol, Howard came across a vehicle parked on North Chillicothe Street with its door open.
Howard then found an unconscious man attempting suicide by hanging himself from a village sign with a belt. Howard was able to quickly cut the man down and render aid until medics arrived, ensuring the man lived through the incident.
Less than a month later, Howard responded to the home of a man having chest pains.
When he arrived to the house, Howard found the man, Vance Vowell, unresponsive and performed CPR for between three and four minutes – a span that McKee said “feels like a lifetime” – until medics arrived.
Without Howard’s swift response, McKee said it is unlikely the man would have survived.
“I received a call the next day from one of the paramedics who informed me that if it wasn’t for Sergeant Howard’s actions, the patient most likely would have not made it,” he said.
Medical personnel later determined that the patient experienced a severe type of heart attack often referred to as “the widow maker.”
“We’re very thankful that he is here with us,” McKee said.
“I’m thankful too,” Vowell said, who was at the meeting along with his family to help recognize Howard.
McKee also honored the lives of two K9 officers, Niko and Andor, who were laid to rest last year.
Niko was a yellow Labrador that was partnered with his handler, Sergeant Tharon Prather.
Niko served with the Plain City Police Department from November 2007 to August 2012, when the K9 program was eliminated due to budgetary restraints.
From that point on, Niko retired from service and lived as a “loyal and loving pet” to the Prather family, McKee said.
His health declined and he was euthanized in March 2023.
McKee said K9 Andor was a German Shepherd that was well-known by many residents who live in the community.
He joined the Division of Police in March 2018 and worked with his handler, Officer Josh Hirtzinger.
Andor was responsible for many searches, criminal apprehensions, drug alerts and arrests. He was also known through his participation in a wide range of community engagement events.
Andor was diagnosed with an aggressive form of lymphoma on June 6 and given a diagnosis of approximately three months to live.
At the time, his veterinarian encouraged PCPD to continue to let him serve as he normally would, as the patrol car was his “happy place,” McKee said.
Andor passed away while on active duty less than two weeks later, at the end of his shift on June 18.
“It was as if he was waiting for his shift to end so he no longer had to protect Officer Hirtzinger,” McKee said.
McKee said both K9s remained fiercely committed to both their handlers and their jobs through their lifetimes.
“The loyalty shown by these two K9s and their handlers is something the entire human race could learn from,” he said.
While the loss of both K9s weighed on the community, McKee said the village’s mourning was “nothing compared to what it did to their handlers.”
As a reminder of their relationships with their K9s and their lives of service, PCPD asked Jonathan Alder student Maya Runkle to complete portraits of Niko and Andor to be presented to the Prather and Hirtzinger families.
McKee said the connection between an officer and their K9 partner is “a bond that most people will never get to experience.”
“Sergeant Prather and Officer Hirtzinger spent more time with their K9 partners than they did with their own families,” McKee said.