Deputy saves man's life

MILAN TWP. — A Missouri man is alive after an Erie County sheriff's deputy saved his life. Just after 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Erie County dispatchers received a 911 call from a 36-year-old man who was experiencing a severe allergic reaction. The man was nearly unintelligible but was able to communicate where he was and what he was going through, according to Erie County Sheriff Paul Sigsworth. The first deputy on the scene was Sgt. Hayden Service, who found the man slouched in a chair and unable to speak coherently, according to an Erie County Sheriff's Office report. The man was able to point to his thigh. At that point, Service produced his department-issued EpiPen and plunged the needle into the man's thigh to counteract the allergic reaction. Paramedics arrived and transported the man to the hospital. His current condition is unknown. Deputies carry EpiPens This is possibly the first use of an EpiPen by an Erie County deputy since the department started issuing them in April after Senate Bill 234 went into effect, allowing law enforcement officers to carry the piece of kit. The bill's primary sponsor, Sen. Theresa Gavarone, R-Bowling Green, was on hand in mid-April at a ceremony announcing that officers could not carry EpiPens. Previously, Ohio statutes were silent on whether law enforcement officers could carry the injectors. The initial EpiPen autoinjectors were offered by University Hospitals. Firelands Health provided training models and deputies used the trainers before the law came into effect so they could begin carrying them immediately.