In a letter presented to Captain Julie Houser, Stetson University Public Safety, DeLand Chief of Police William E. Ridgway honored Houser with a Community Partnership Award, saying the following:

On 07/16/14, DeLand Police and Fire/Rescue were dispatched to Stetson University in reference to an adult male having a possible heart attack. As a member of Stetson Public Safety you were one of the first to come into contact with the patient. Without delay you started performing CPR. When Officer M. Godwin later arrived on scene she observed you performing CPR at which time she relieved you. As she continued performing CPR Officer Godwin noticed the patient’s color returning and slight movement, but just as quickly the patient’s color again diminished and it appeared that the patient continued having a cardiac crisis. This happened several times during the course of performing CPR. Moments later DeLand Fire/Rescue and Evac arrived and the victim was eventually transported to the hospital.

On 07/17/14, Sergeant Luongo made contact with hospital staff … that treated the patient (nurses and doctor), the doctor saying that the efforts made by you and Officer Godwin in the field were directly responsible for saving the life of the patient.

Your actions were exemplary and I commend you for going above and beyond the call of your duties and contribute to saving a life. On behalf of the DeLand Police Department I thank you for your initiative and professionalism in working in partnership with Officer Godwin during this incident.

Houser, third from right, was presented the award by City Commissioner Leigh Matusick, far right, while Bob Matusick, second from right, director of Stetson’s Department of Public Safety, looked on. City Commissioner Charles Paiva, third from left, presented DeLand Police Officer Mariam Godwin her award, while Chief Ridgway and Officer Chalen Godwin looked on.

“Captain Houser has been employed at Stetson Public Safety just under a year and came to us after an exhaustive search for a leader in this position,” said Matusick. “Since her employment, she has rolled up her sleeves and jumped into the role to understand the needs of our officers and develop policy to assist in the application. Captain Houser came to us with previous law enforcement experience and her skills were obvious when she jumped into this situation to help save this man’s life. I am certainly proud to have Captain Houser on my team and her skills certainly complement our Stetson responsibility to Protect and Serve our community.”