Omaha officer, man have heartwarming reunion after life-saving incident

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - From the brink of death to a second chance at life.

An Omaha family is meeting the man they call their guardian angel after a near-fatal incident in a sandwich shop.

It started with a trip here to the Walmart near 50th and Ames last Friday for Michael Freeman.

“I really don’t remember the trip to Walmart. My wife said I called her and asked if she wanted something from Subway,” said Michael Freeman.

Moments later, the unimaginable.

“The next thing I remember is waking up in the emergency room.”

Freeman had gone into cardiac arrest.

“I heard a thud or a crash from behind and I turned around to see what had happened and I saw Mike was laying on the ground, arms out, stretched looking at the ceiling,” said Officer Keith Lampert, Omaha Police Dept.

Just feet away from Freeman was off-duty Omaha Police Officer Keith Lampert. The 17-year police veteran rushed in to help immediately.

“Then he stopped breathing. Just training kicked, we went right into CPR and gave him chest compressions for about 45 seconds and after that, he coughed a very loud cough and he came back to, starting breathing on his own. Not good breaths. He was breathing slowly,” said Officer Lampert.

Freeman was rushed to CHI Immanuel in rough shape but alive. After days of treatment, Freeman is finally back at home recovering.

Wednesday, an emotional reunion for the two men. Freeman’s family embraced the man who is giving them more time with their dad.

Freeman’s son, Marlon, says in a time when you hear so much about race relations and police, the near-tragedy comes with an important reminder for the entire community.

“I feel like there’s a lot of officers are that way. They are doing their jobs, that they are really, really, really genuinely good people, and just because someone doesn’t look like you doesn’t mean that they are out to harm you,” said Marlon Freeman, Michael Freeman’s son.

The Freeman family says they now have a forever bond with the man they call their guardian angel.

“When we greeted we shook hands and when I got up I realized shaking hands wasn’t enough. I wanted to give him a hug and we embraced and that felt so good to hug your guardian angel. It felt good,” said Freeman.

Freeman still has a ways to go in his recovery.

He will undergo surgery in the coming weeks to unclog an artery.

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