Off-duty officer saves neighbor's life

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In nearly 30 years in the Snellville Police Department, Lieutenant Ray Gunter has assisted with countless emergencies but never once needed to administer CPR...that is, until this Easter.

He is now being called one family's "Easter miracle," after he sprang into action and delivered CPR to one of his very own neighbors.

Gunter's wife, Renee, described to FOX 5 News where neighbors found Dewey Belcher, 74, unconscious Sunday afternoon. "He was laying in between it, on top of this," she pointed to a bush and pole. Nearby security cameras caught the moment when neighbors realized something was wrong.

"I ran in, told my husband to call 911 or get down here, and he already came out and started coming down here," Renee said.

Gunter was off the clock, just getting home from volunteering at a nearby church, but when his wife frantically alerted him of the emergency, his instinct kicked into high gear.

"I was just in police mode, I was just trying to save his life," Gunter said.

"Ray did CPR so well and Renee called 911, they moved methodically," said Gloria Damiano-Belcher, Dewey Belcher's wife. She told FOX 5 News over the phone, from the bottom of her heart, she is thankful.

Despite a prosthetic leg, Gunter kneeled for several minutes, giving chest compressions until an ambulance arrived.

"I don't think I did anything special, I just feel I did something I was trained to do," Gunter said.

But nothing special couldn't be further from how the family of Marine Corps veteran Dewey Belcher feels.

"It was amazing that they thought so quickly, and Ray getting down on one knee and having a prosthetic leg," Damiano-Belcher acknowledged. "They're beautiful people. They are good, good people."

The family told FOX 5 News Belcher is still in intensive care, but they're hopeful for his recovery with reports of stable brain activity and a pulse.