CARIBOU, Maine — Although he insists it was all in a day’s work, a law enforcement officer from Aroostook County recently was recognized for assisting a man who he said was trying to harm himself.
Officer Chad Foley, who worked for the Caribou Police Department at the time but was recently hired as a deputy for the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Department, was bestowed the Life Saving Award from the Maine Chiefs of Police Association.
Foley worked as a patrolman for the Caribou Police Department from March 2013 through early February 2015, Chief Michael Gahagan said last week.
Foley was surprised when the Bangor Daily News contacted him on Monday, as he was trying to keep the news about the award a secret.
“I really am not a person who likes to get a lot of attention and recognition,” he said with a laugh.
Foley said the incident with the young man, who he estimated was between 18 and 22 years old, happened in September 2014 when he was on patrol on Route 89.
“I was just driving and suddenly I saw a guy lying on the side of the road, on the shoulder,” he said. “I pulled over. He had a soda can next to him, and he had drool running down the side of his mouth. I thought he was choking. I saw that he had something tied around his neck.”
Foley said that he then looked at the young man’s sneakers and saw that his shoelaces were missing. He said he then realized the man had knotted his shoelaces around his neck.
“They were really tight,” he said. “I tried to reach my fingers between his laces and his neck, and I couldn’t get my fingers between the shoelaces. He was turning blue. I managed to cut them off and called for an ambulance to get him to the hospital after he admitted that he was trying to kill himself. I followed the ambulance to Cary Medical Center in Caribou.”
Foley said the man told him that relatives were at his home and an altercation had occurred. He said the man told him he had stormed off in anger. Foley said the man said he was angry and impulsive and wanted to harm himself.
Foley grew up in Van Buren and has been in law enforcement for 19 years, including stints at the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department, and the Bangor, Old Town and Caribou police departments. He also was in the military and served a tour in Iraq.
He lives in Presque Isle.
Foley said he was surprised when he heard he was going to receive the Maine Chiefs of Police Association award.
“It was really nice, and I appreciate the recognition, but of course I don’t do this job for awards,” he said. “I have been in a lot more dangerous situations where I did not get awards. I am very happy this situation turned out like it did.”
Gahagan said that Foley’s quick thinking saved the man’s life and got him the help he needed. The chief thanked Foley for his service to the city of Caribou.
