Back on job, guard says thank you to CPR cops

Sase N. Singh, a public safety officer at Manhattan College, returned to work on Feb. 22 after suffering a life-threatening heart attack inside of a Dunkin’ Donuts days before Christmas.

On Dec. 22, Mr. Singh collapsed in the doorway of the donut shop, located at 5987 Broadway, and hit his head on the ground. Livery cab drivers who witnessed the incident waved down two police officers, Officers Roland Benson and Kevin Preiss, and asked them to help Mr. Singh.  

“I don’t remember anything, except that I put my bag on the shelf inside the Dunkin’ Donuts and then I just collapsed,” Singh said.

When Officers Benson and Preiss arrived on scene, Singh had no pulse and was not breathing.  The two police officers started administering chest compressions until an ambulance arrived.

“He was laying across the doorway; you couldn’t even get in,” Officer Benson recounted in a Jan. 21 interview. “My partner jumped over him and we both got down on our knees and I felt for a pulse, there was no pulse, and his eyes looked like he was dead already.”

The officers were able to revive Mr. Singh and keep him breathing until he could be taken to a hospital. 

“We’re glad he’s doing okay,” Officer Preiss said. “I mean, that night, even when he was at the hospital, he wasn’t looking too good.”

Mr. Singh spent the next five days in a virtual coma before waking up for the first time since his collapse on Dec. 27. He stayed in the hospital until Jan. 5 and took a little over a month to return to work.

Neighbors and friends from Mr. Singh’s hometown in Guyana came to visit him in the hospital. He was the first person from their village to attend high school.

“In those days, you just needed an education and my older siblings all wanted me to do something better than them,” Mr. Singh said.

He added that doctors at Montefiore Medical Center did not find a clear cause for his sudden heart attack and suggested little change to his current lifestyle. They gave him the choice of getting a pacemaker to prevent another cardiac arrest.

“Even though they said I don’t have to, I decided to take this option,” Mr. Singh said. “It would stop this from happening in the future.”

Officers Benson and Preiss said they were happy to hear about the guard’s speedy recovery. They received a thank you note from Mr. Singh’s wife.

“She very much appreciated what we did for her husband and her family, you know,” Officer Preiss said. “It was nice because, you know, most times we help people and then we never hear anything else.  It’s nice to get that feedback.”