(New York) — A police officer in Ohio saved the life of a man who was allegedly choking on a bag of marijuana that he reportedly tried to swallow after he was pulled over for speeding.
The footage was released by the Ohio State Highway Patrol on Thursday, July 8, and shows Trooper Hoskin from the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Ravenna post pull over the 24-year-old suspect after speeding by his vehicle on the highway in Portage County, according to Storyful.
“Where are you going in such a hurry?” Hoskin can be heard asking the driver after approaching the stopped vehicle in video taken from the officer’s dashboard camera.
It is not known how or if the suspect responded but Hoskin can then be heard asking if he is alright.
“Can you breathe?” Hoskin says to the driver before instructing him to get out of the car and asking if he can breathe again.
Don't try to swallow a bag of drugs prior to getting pulled over in an attempt to keep a trooper from finding them. Luckily, Tpr. Hoskin from our Ravenna Post was alert and able to assist the man who was choking on a bag of illegal marijuana. pic.twitter.com/LqgbOhOEsW
— Ohio State Patrol (@OSHP) July 8, 2021
Hoskin then takes the man to the side of the road and begins performing the Heimlich maneuver on him several times before an object can be seen becoming dislodged from the man’s mouth and falling to the ground.
As the man sits on the ground after the close call, Hoskin informs the man that an ambulance was on the way to treat him and to make he was alright.
“We got an ambulance coming just to check you out, make sure everything’s good,” says Hoskin to the suspect. “Do you want to die over a minor misdemeanor?”
The man was reportedly cited for speeding, failing to wear a seatbelt, and issued a misdemeanor for marijuana, according to Storyful.
Said the Ohio State Patrol in a post on Twitter: “Don't try to swallow a bag of drugs prior to getting pulled over in an attempt to keep a trooper from finding them.”