From left are Chief Anthony Sizemore , Officer Robert Cantrell, Officer Kelvis Rodriquez, K9 Officer Brian Aponte. PHOTO PROVIDED

Cape Coral Police Officer Kelvis Rodriguez, Officer Robert Cantrell and K9 Officer Brian Aponte this week received Lifesaving Awards, one of the department’s highest honors.

In his nomination of the officers, Sgt. Philip Mullen noted:

On April 16, 2022, at approximately 5:20 p.m., Officer Kelvis Rodriguez and Officer Robert Cantrell were the first to arrive at a shooting call (22-008917) where a victim had suffered multiple gunshot wounds. The officers found the victim just inside the front door bleeding heavily with a gunshot wound to the neck as well as two to the abdomen. Officer Rodriguez immediately began lifesaving wound care while Officer Cantrell cleared the residence.

Officer Cantrell returned to the patient once the house was deemed safe, grabbing towels from the kitchen to help stop the bleeding. K9 Officer Brian Aponte arrived, and all three officers then provided critical wound care and encouraged the victim to remain conscious and stay positive, continuing to do so until medics could arrive to transport.

Despite the extremely serious nature of the victim’s injuries, the actions of these officers kept the victim alive, and the victim is expected to survive as of the writing of this nomination.

For this reason, Rodriguez, Cantrell and Aponte received the Lifesaving Award on behalf of Chief Anthony Sizemore, Deputy Chief Michael Catania and Deputy Chief Darren Mckenna.