Officer honored for saving woman’s life

For his quick-thinking efforts that saved a woman’s life, Hawaii Police Department Officer Dallas Arce was honored as Officer of the Month for July 2022 by the Aloha Exchange Club of East Hawaii during a ceremony in Hilo on Oct. 27.

Assigned to the Puna District, Arce has proven himself as a hard-working and dedicated officer in the two years since he joined the department, according to an HPD press release.

In the early morning hours of Monday, June 27, Arce conducted a welfare check on a woman who reportedly overdosed on prescription medication.

Arriving on scene before other first responders, Arce and his beat partner found the unresponsive woman with prescription pills gathered together within her arm’s reach. Officers ascertained that earlier the woman was involved in a domestic dispute during which she had left the residence yelling that she wanted to kill herself.

Remembering his HPD naloxone (commonly known as Narcan) training, Arce ran to his patrol vehicle and obtained two doses of the life-saving spray. Knowing that time was of the essence, he deployed both doses into the woman’s nose, resulting in her immediately starting to breathe and cough.

As the Narcan’s effects continued to help the woman, Hawaii Fire Department medical personnel were able to stabilize her condition and transport her to the Hilo Medical Center for treatment.

Without Arce’s quick and confident actions, a family might be without a daughter today.

Every month, the Aloha Exchange Club of East Hawaii honors a police officer in East Hawaii as their officer of the month. Officers are nominated by their supervisors from the police districts in East Hawaii, and a winner is selected.

All officers selected for Officer of the Month are eligible to be selected as the Aloha Exchange Club of East Hawaii Officer of the Year.