Batesville officer honored for saving life of fellow veteran

"He is 100 percent a guardian angel"

(BATESVILLE, Ind.) – A Batesville police officer is being credited for his heroic actions that saved the life of a fellow veteran last summer. 

Trevor Comer is a Marine Corps veteran who has served on the police department since 2017. 

Last July, he was driving home from work when he overheard a call on the radio. 

“I often scan the radio for other agencies just in case there is something going on that I can help with, and when I heard that call, it grabbed my attention,” Comer said. 

Although he didn’t have to, Comer responded to the scene and that is when he discovered 37-year-old Jason Dombrowski. 

“That’s when I realized it was Jason, we had grown up together,” Comer said. 

The two of them both graduated from Jac-Cen-Del and share a common bond of military service. 

While Comer was honorably discharged from the Marines in 2014, Dombrowski has 20 years of service and is currently in the Army Reserve.

The Call: 

Jason admits that his time in the military has led to a battle with Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Last July, Dombrowski had recently returned from an Army training in Germany when he had a PTSD attack, punching a window and suffering a severe arm laceration. 

Dombrowski was going in-and-out consciousness and heavily bleeding, while his wife called 9-1-1 and tried to apply pressure to the wound. 

Minutes later, Comer was the first to arrive on the scene and immediately applied a tourniquet to slow the bleeding. 

The officer then got on the radio and told EMS personnel “to get here quick.” 

Dombrowski was rushed to the hospital before being Air Cared to Cincinnati. 

Going Above-And-Beyond

Dombrowski was hospitalized for one day but the recovery has taken much longer. 

It took nearly four months before he was able to lift more than ten pounds, and he is still dealing with some lingering effects. 

However, he is healing. Not only physically but also emotionally. 

Jason has now gotten the proper care for PTSD and through that process, he began to inquire more about that night. 

“I didn’t know much about that night as I was blacked out mostly. It took awhile to start piecing it all together,” Jason admitted.  

He learned that Trevor’s assistance didn’t stop after a tourniquet was applied. 

It was the officer’s calm demeanor in those tense moments that also contributed to a successful outcome. 

“He would talk on the radio or talk with the EMT’s, and then still explain everything to my wife a moment later. He was dealing with so much chaos and he never raised his voice once,”

Jason said. 

“He was juggling several different jobs at the same time, staying calm and keeping everyone else as calm as possible,” he added.

At some point during or immediately following the incident, Comer also reached out to his relative, Donald Comer, who is a veteran and close friend of Jason’s. 

Through Donald, Trevor was able to keep tabs on Jason's condition before the two veterans eventually spoke about a week later. 

‘Someone I look up to, even at my age’

Jason describes the officer’s demeanor as the ‘Trevor Tone’ and something that has been present since their days back at Jac-Cen-Del in the 2000’s. 

“Trevor has always been the person that helps other people out. Whether that was fixing a friend's car as a teenager or something else, he’s always had that calm presence and been someone you can count on,” Jason said. 

With their shared military experience, Dombrowski is aware that his PTSD attack last July could have also triggered Trevor as well.

He credits Comer for his calmness and communication during and after the incident. 

“He literally saved my life, I was at a point of no return. If I would have lost any more blood that would have been it,” Dombrowski said. 

Last week, Jason had the opportunity to go to the Batesville Police Department to thank Trevor for his actions.

He presented Comer with a Life-Saving Award that reads, ‘You gave a struggling veteran a second chance at life.’

For those who know Trevor, he certainly isn’t seeking any recognition and isn’t thrilled about the attention.

Last night we spoke to Trevor and he said, “What ultimately matters is that Jason survived and is okay. That's what is most important.”

Jason also understands Trevor isn't seeking any praise for his actions, but believes he fully deserves the recognition.

“His actions come from how he was raised and how he is built. He is 100 percent a guardian angel, and he would give the shirt off his back, or his last dollar to help anyone. They don’t make many people like that anymore,” Dombrowski said.