Person who called 911 for deceased former US attorney Jessica Aber 'refused' to perform CPR

[Jedi Guy]

57. Not surprised if the person who called 911 was untrained or panic-stricken.

Even properly administered CPR can break ribs and/or the sternum. That's a lesser consideration if someone is in the throes of cardiac arrest, of course, since bones heal and death is somewhat permanent. The caller may well have been concerned about the possibility of unintentionally injuring Ms. Aber further.

We also don't know the caller's relation, if any, to Ms. Aber. If they were "freaking out" or otherwise too panicked to focus, I can understand not having the mental wherewithal required to attempt CPR. In a highly emotionally charged situation, some people have a tendency to freeze.

I took CPR training last fall (drew the short straw in my office) and our instructor discussed why people might refuse to help. Part of the training is instructing those who haven't been trained or asking them to assist (calling first responders, handling first aid materials, helping to reposition the injured, etc.) and he told us not to be shocked if people flatly refuse to get involved.

I think this information has induced some folks to jump to conclusions. It certainly seems to have spurred some conspiracy theories...