A Little Elm police officer assigned to two elementary schools will be recognized Tuesday for clearing a teacher's airway when she began choking during the school day in September.
Police Chief Rodney Harrison is scheduled to present Officer Bunnath Seng with a Life Saving Award at the Town Council's meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
According to the department's commendation report in the council packet, Seng was making routine walks through Robertson Elementary on Woodlake Parkway at about 11:45 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 14, when he saw a teacher coughing and appearing to be in distress. When he asked whether she was all right, she could not answer, and she gestured toward herself to signal that she needed help.
Believing her airway was blocked, Seng gave two abdominal thrusts. She then told him she was OK and said a piece of carrot had lodged in her throat and kept her from breathing.
A school staff member who was dialing 911 stopped once the teacher recovered, the report says, and the teacher was soon talking and laughing and thanked him. In an email included with the report, a school employee wrote that the officer "immediately performed the Heimlich maneuver and successfully saved our teacher's life." Seng's sergeant signed the commendation the next day.
Seng is the school resource officer for Robertson and Miller elementary schools.
Also on Tuesday's agenda
- Tasers going to other agencies: a consent item would give away TASER devices the police department no longer needs, 62 X2 units and 63 X26P units by the resolution's serial-number list, to the Prosper ISD Police Department and the Red River County Sheriff's Office. Staff say there is no budget impact.
- Townhome plan delayed again: the request to rezone about 21 acres northwest of West Eldorado Parkway and Oak Grove Parkway for 150 townhomes and an 8,000-square-foot Montessori school for up to 300 students is back on the agenda after staff asked in October to push it to this meeting. Staff say the applicant's revised site plan still does not meet town standards and are asking the council to table it again, this time to Nov. 17.
- Zoning code updates: council members will get a workshop briefing on proposed changes to the town's zoning ordinance, requested by Council Member Jamell Johnson at the Oct. 13 meeting, before a public hearing on the amendments later in the evening. Staff say the changes bring the code in line with laws passed in the 2025 legislative session and fix smaller errors.
- Proclamations: Nov. 2-6 will be declared Municipal Court Week, and the council will recognize Little Elm ISD's ballet folklórico program.
The workshop starts at 6 p.m. at Town Hall, 100 W. Eldorado Parkway, with the regular meeting immediately after.
Sources
destinyhosted.com
destinyhosted.com
