Lieutenant Alex Eastman drove to work on Sunday in his Dallas Police Tahoe prepared to keep the runners and crowd safe at the BMW Dallas Marathon. Wearing his heavy vest, BDU uniform, and gun strapped to his thigh, he looked like a typical Dallas SWAT officer, but luckily for one man, he was not.

Lieutenant Eastman has been a reserve officer on the Dallas Police Department for nearly 14 years and also happens to be a medical doctor. 

Credit: D Magazine

During the marathon on Sunday, Lieutenant Eastman was working in a police capacity to provide security for the marathon. He heard another officer call on the police radio asking for an ambulance for one of the runners who was having a heart attack. Lieutenant Eastman was only blocks away and pulled up to the scene where several people were providing CPR to the fallen runner. 

Eastman said he knew the man was dead when he approached, but with the use of an AED the man was revived. Dr. Eastman said, “In my 16 years as a doctor, I have never seen anyone come back like that.” A short time later, the man was up and talking, “He was incredibly grateful and thankful to have a second chance at life,” Eastman said.

Dr. Eastman has made multiple visits to the hospital to check on the recovering runner. “I was going out to work that day on the SWAT team and I ended up helping save someone. I guess I was just at the right place at the right time.”