Quick-thinking Prince William Co. sheriff’s deputies come to aid of official who collapsed at public meeting
When former Prince William County Supervisor John Stirrup collapsed at the podium during a public board meeting Tuesday night, it was two quick-acting sheriff’s deputies — who happened to be in the audience for a discussion about deputy pay raises — who were the first to come to his aid.
“Within seconds, they were rendering aid to him,” Prince William County Sheriff Glen Hill told WTOP’s Neal Augenstein in an interview. “And of course a few seconds later, people from Fire and Rescue were also in the audience and they came over and continued to revive him.”
Hill added, “Certainly they are all trained in how to perform first aid. They are certainly experienced deputies and they’ve all had the training. And they just sprung into action and put their training into action.”
Stirrup, who served on the board from 2003 to 2011 and is now running for a state delegate seat, was making comments about a rise in crime in the county during the public comment session of the board meeting when he collapsed and fell to the ground, InsideNova reported.
Video available online shows Stirrup speaking at the microphone before the image is replaced by a blue screen, and Board Chair Ann Wheeler’s voice is heard saying, “We are going to take a recess.”
A Facebook post on the John Stirrup for Delegate Facebook page posted later Tuesday night said he was taken to the hospital. “John is now feeling much better, resting and even telling a few dad jokes to the hospital staff,” the post stated, adding that he is “incredibly grateful for the first responders, medical team, and all those who have reached out and offered prayers and support.”
Hill told WTOP the sheriff’s deputies were in the audience for the board’s budget markup session, during which supervisors were set to discuss details of the proposed $1.6 billion budget for the 2024 fiscal year.
Among the proposals is a proposed 9.8% pay raise for sheriff’s deputies — a 6.8% base raise and another 3% in step and merit raises.
While the proposed pay bumps were called “historic highs” by County Executive Christopher Shorter when the budget proposal was introduced, the proposed pay increase for the sheriff’s office is far less than a 17% increase for police officers approved by the board in December.
“Of course we’re certainly concerned about the pay increase for deputy sheriffs,” Hill said. “So a number of us were at the board meeting to see what the recommendation’s going to be for the pay raise for deputy sheriff’s.”
The budget markup has been rescheduled for Tuesday.
When the board came back into session Tuesday after Stirrup’s collapse, Shorter thanked first responders.
“What we saw in this response was absolutely amazing, and we want to thank you very much,” he said as board members and people in the audience rose to applaud.
Said Hill, “It just warms your heart … I’m just proud to be part of an organization — and work with people — that responds quickly in and helps the public anytime there’s an emergency.”
WTOP’s Neal Augenstein contributed to this report.