MORGAN COUNTY, Ind. (WISH) – Law enforcement in Morgan County will soon have an AED in every patrol car, which will be accessible when officers are on and off duty.

The Morgan County Sheriff’s Office, along with the Martinsville, Mooresville, Monrovia, Morgantown, Paragon, and Brooklyn police departments will all receive the devices, hopefully by the end of the year.

Morgan County Sheriff Rich Myers said officers often respond to medical emergencies in rural counties.

“Ambulance services generally are posted somewhere strategically throughout the county, but we can be close to an event so we can have those AEDs for a heart attack or whatever the event is much quicker,” Sheriff Myers said.

Bolt for the Heart, a nonprofit organization that brings awareness to cardiac arrests, is supplying 92 AED kits to the county. The group also previously helped equip all Indiana State Police vehicles with the devices.

“Sudden cardiac arrest is one of the top killers in the United States. Without CPR and an AED, death is pretty much imminent, but if you have CPR and an AED, your chance of survival has increased significantly,” Susan Twer, spokesperson for Bolt for the Heart said.

Both the organization and law enforcement said AEDs are user friendly and require limited training to operate. Each one costs around $1,500.

It’s why Bolt for the Heart fundraises to purchase the devices, so government agencies don’t have to use taxpayer dollars. They’re hosting a Morgan County 5K Bolt Race October 5.

“You can run that morning,” Twer said. “We also have a virtual option that if you can’t be there on that day, you can register virtually to run it wherever you may, whenever you want. And we’ll send you a bib number and a finisher’s medal. You can send us a picture of you with your medal on when you’ve finished your race virtually and we’ll post it on our website.”