A pair of Powell police officers have been honored for helping to save the life of a local resident this summer.

At a Sept. 7 Powell City Council meeting, Officers Kevin Bennett and Ryan Davis received Life Saving Awards from the department for reviving a woman who had overdosed.

Powell Police Chief Roy Eckerdt described Davis and Bennett’s actions as an “extraordinary performance” that was worthy of special recognition.

“This is always a struggle for us in identifying what’s extraordinary, because we’ve got a lot of good people doing a lot of good stuff on a daily basis,” Eckerdt told the council. “But every now and then one rises to the top.”

One early morning in mid-August, dispatchers received a 911 call for a report of a drug overdose.

Patrol officers Bennett and Davis arrived at the residence before EMS personnel and they found a woman in her late 20s down on the kitchen floor without a pulse. The duo learned that the woman “had ingested [an] undetermined amount of fentanyl, which rendered this patient clinically dead,” wrote Powell Valley Healthcare paramedic Aaron Macias, who nominated the officers for the award.

However, Davis and Bennett quickly administered CPR and two doses of Narcan — a nasal spray that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose — and the woman soon began to breathe again. EMS personnel soon took over the care of the patient, and she regained consciousness within minutes.

“Because of the rapid response, quick thinking, appropriate medical care and dedication to the residents of this community, this young lady is alive today, thanks to officers Bennett and Davis,” Macias wrote. Had the officers not taken those actions, he said the woman would most likely have died.

Chief Eckerdt added that the officers’ job was complicated by the fact that they were initially given the wrong address.

“Not only did they respond quickly, [they were able to] find the right place that they were supposed to be, and acknowledge and move on the actions that need to be taken,” he said.

The certificates Bennett and Davis were awarded say that their “dedication to duty is a credit to themselves and the Powell Police Department and the City of Powell.”

They were recognized with a round of applause from the audience at last week’s council meeting.

“We sure appreciate it, guys,” said Mayor John Wetzel.

Bennett joined the department in 2019 while Davis — who had prior law enforcement experience in California — came on board in March. Both are military veterans.

Meanwhile, Macias has also joined the Powell Police Department as well, recently becoming the agency’s new community service officer.