May 15--A Harford County Sheriff's Office deputy, who was rushed to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center Thursday night after experiencing a medical emergency, is "improving," a sheriff's office spokesperson said Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the sheriff's office is conducting an internal inquiry into what happened to the deputy and the length of time it took to find him, Sheriff Jesse Bane said.
The patrol deputy, a sergeant who has been with the agency 10 years, was on duty at the time he became ill, Monica Worrell, spokesperson for the sheriff's office said.
The deputy was still hospitalized at shock trauma in Baltimore Monday, Worrell said Tuesday, adding that "his condition is improving."
Citing medical confidentiality laws, Worrell said she could not discuss specifically what happened or the nature of the illness. She also said she wasn't authorized to release the deputy's name, referring those inquiries to Bane.
The deputy was stricken in his patrol vehicle and had pulled over in the vicinity of Bynum Road and Cannery Lane in the Rock Spring area north of Bel Air, Worrell said.
He was found by another deputy around 8:45 p.m. and was flown by a Maryland State Police Medevac to shock trauma, where he was initially listed in critical condition, according to Worrell.
"We are conducting an inquiry and are trying to recreate everything that happened," Bane said. "We don't suspect that anything went wrong; we just want to find out."
Bane said the deputy, whose name he was not ready to release, is not able to communicate at this point, so he couldn't say when the inquiry would be completed. He also said the sheriff's office has "several different" protocols for finding out where its patrol vehicles are, including a GIS locating system for each, and protocols for deputies to follow if they are in distress.
Bane also acknowledged there have been "different accounts" about how long it took for dispatchers and commanders to realize the deputy was having a medical problem and the time it took to find him. He called some of what he has heard "conflicting information."
"We want to find everything out we can at this point," Bane said. "I really don't want say anything more until we are through."
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Copyright 2012 - The Aegis, Bel Air, Md.
