The Indiana State Police were proud and flattered to have three state troopers as special invited guests at the January 2nd Indiana Pacers basketball game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Pacers organization publicly recognized these troopers for their life saving actions at a Notre Dame Football game this past October.
Pictured are the three troopers on the basketball court with Pacers mascot Boomer as Pacers fans cheered the trooper’s service to Hoosiers. And in a fitting end to the evening the Indiana Pacers defeated the Washington Wizards 89 to 81.
Below is a reprint of the release originally sent out October 18, 2012.
Troopers Help Save Life
at Notre Dame Football Game
St. Joseph County – Three troopers were in the right place at the right time last Saturday as thousands of fans made their way on to the Notre Dame campus for the football game.
Troopers Brian McCall, Gary Runde, and Ryan Purkiser, had just finished their pregame traffic direction assignments and were on foot patrol when they decided to duck into the Hammes bookstore on the campus to get out of the rain. Shortly before 2:30 p.m. the troopers were approached in the bookstore by a bystander and advised that there was a male subject on the floor that was not breathing. The troopers located the man and found him to be unresponsive. At the time the man was not breathing and did not have a pulse. The troopers quickly notified the Notre Dame Emergency Command Center and began CPR. Within a few minutes medical personnel from the Notre Dame Fire Department and South Bend Fire Department arrived to relieve the officers and tend to the man.
The man later identified as Patrick Carpenter, 47, of Churubusco was taken from the scene by ambulance to Memorial Hospital in South Bend. As of Monday Carpenter remained in the Memorial Hospital Intensive Care Unit.
Senior Trooper Brian McCall and Trooper Gary Runde both work out of the Lowell District. McCall lives in Crown Point and Runde resides in Portage. Trooper Ryan Purkiser is stationed out of the Putnamville Post and lives in Plainfield.
