Man honors cops for saving his life Gives plaque to officers who saved his life after his heart attack BY TOM CAIAZZA Staff Writer Tom Caiazza During a press conference on Monday, Barry Fletcher gave Edison Police Officers David Tingle and Matthew Lechelt plaques to thank them for saving his life. EDISON - Barry Fletcher admits that on May 9 he dropped dead. The UPS employee suffered a heart attack early that morning. He was found without a pulse and not breathing. But Barry Fletcher isn't dead, and he has two Edison police officers to thank for it. So, on Sept. 10, he did. Fletcher initiated a ceremony where he thanked officers Matthew Lechelt and David Tingle for coming to his rescue that May morning. The two officers gave Fletcher cardiopulmonary resuscitation and used an automated external defibrillator (AED) to restart the man's heart. "I am truly blessed that on that particular morning, these two young gentlemen … David and Matt, were there, had responded in a professional and urgent manner and worked diligently to save my life," Fletcher said during a press conference at town hall, where he gave each officer a plaque, thanking them for doing their jobs well. Fletcher spent three days in a coma. On the fifth day, both officers, while offduty, went to the hospital to check on the man they had saved. Fletcher said it was that added kindness that made all the difference. "This wasn't an act of service that they did; they took it a step further," Fletcher said. "They even came up to the hospital to visit me with balloons." Fletcher said that during the first few days he was in the hospital, he did not know who had saved his life, but when the two officers came to his room, he knew they were the ones who had saved him. It is something, he said, he could never fully repay. "I can never say enough about the two men who saved my life," Fletcher said. Mayor Jun Choi, who presided over the ceremony, said that he was touched that the officers would take it upon themselves to visit the man. He said the township is very proud of its police officers and that this was an opportunity to show their quality. "I can tell you without any hesitation that we are so proud of our officers for what they do on a day-to-day basis," Choi said. "Oftentimes they are risking their own lives to do it, and in many cases there are these … random acts of kindness, random acts of life-saving opportunities that often go unrecognized." Police Chief George Mieczkowski said there was "more to policing than responding to a call." "There is a lot of soul that goes into it, there is a lot of regard and concern for human beings, and I think these two officers are a good example of the dedication of the Edison Police Department and their dedication to public service," Mieczkowski said. Lechelt said that he felt fortunate that he had a job where he could help people every day. "I feel fortunate that something I did, that is part of my job, had such an impact on such beautiful and thoughtful people, that it is hard to put into words," he said. Tingle, a reservist with combat time in both the Iraq and Afghanistan theaters, said that in his job interview he was asked why he wanted to be a police officer. The answer, he said, was for reasons just like this - to help people in need. Jenise Fletcher, Barry Fletcher's daughter, said she and her family are grateful to the officers who saved her father's life. While barely holding back tears, she expressed her gratitude. "People do their jobs day to day," she said, "and at the end of the day, it's just a job to them. But they took it a step further. It meant a lot to us."