KEY WEST, Fla. – On a Sunday evening in March, Monroe County Sheriff's Office deputies rushed to a house in Key Largo after receiving a 911 call about a medical emergency there.
By time deputies arrived, they heard a man yelling for help. The woman inside "had no pulse, was not breathing, and her face was blue," deputies reported.
"She had a pulse... she's going back down," one deputy said on body camera video.
After performing CPR and placing automated external defibrillator (AED) pads on the woman, both deputies on scene administered Narcan, the medication used to reverse opioid overdose.
In minutes, the woman regained a heartbeat and began breathing on her own.
That night was one of many that sticks with Deputy Ignacio Molina, one of the deputies who helped save her life.
Molina, deployed five times with the Marines and now working in the Sheriff's Office Upper Keys unit, said calls in the Keys range from drug and alcohol related crimes, crashes, property crimes, to the occasional violent incident.
"Drunk driving is a big, big thing here," Molina said.
On a night a Local 10 crew rode with Molina, during his 6p.m. to 6a.m. shift, Molina pulled over a car speeding on the Overseas Highway. He said he smelled marijuana in the car and asked to search the driver's bag, where he found suspected joints.
"There it is - positive for marijuana," Molina said after performing a field test on the substance.
He let the driver go with a notice to appear.
In the course of the night, Molina also pulled over a swerving car, which ended up being full of lost tourists. He pulled over a man on a golf cart illegally driving on the pedestrian path along U.S. 1, who had a suspended license and a warrant, according to records.
He also deftly dealt with a tourist at a swanky resort, suspected of being unruly and drunk. Molina convinced him to go back to his room and order food.
And around midnight, he stopped a man on a bicycle with a chainsaw that was suspected to be stolen property. But saving lives, like on that night in March, is one of a law enforcement officer’s most important jobs.
Deputies in the Keys have been carrying Narcan for the last two years, according to a department spokesman. School Resource Officers now carry the potent drug as well.
"It feels good. It gives you a sense of: 'this is why I do the job.'" Molina said.
For reports of their weekly arrests, visit the Monroe County's Sheriff's Office site.