Sister Mourns Preventable Police Officer Death

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – The St. Louis Park Police Department will remember one of their own as a devoted family man who loved his job and the community he served.

Mike Pollitz died Wednesday afternoon from a clot that began in his leg and then traveled to his lungs. He was 37 and on duty when the clot struck.

Pollitz's sister, Amy Pollitz, said Mike was on a call when he suffered seizure. He came out of it seemingly unscathed, but then he suffered another seizure that left no question to his condition. His fellow officer called an ambulance.

Medics tried to revive Pollitz, but his condition only deteriorated. Pollitz then went into cardiac arrest and died two hours later at the Hennepin County Medical Center.

"Right before he passed, he held an officer's hand and said, 'I'm scared.'" Amy Pollitz said.

A pulmonary embolism caused Pollitz's death. Amy Pollitz said it seems to run in the family.

Nine years ago, Amy Pollitz said she had difficulty breathing, the same problem her brother began suffering from had last month.

"You can't catch your breath, your chest is tight, you would walk up the stairs and … it would take 10 or15 minutes to recover," Pollitz said.

Pollitz said her brother went to the doctor to see what was wrong. The tests, however, said it was nothing.

Pollitz said an ER doctor gave her a blood test that saved her life. She believes if her brother had the same test, he would be alive today.

"If you have difficulty breathing you need a blood test to see if there is a clot. That should be the number one test doctors give now--a—days. It should have been prevented. That's what makes it so hard," Amy Pollitz said.

Mike Pollitz leaves behind his wife, and two children, Jake and Morgan .A fund has been set up to help his children. Donations may be sent to the fund at the address below:

Jake/Morgan Pollitz Fund
Vision Bank
c/o Jake & Morgan Pollitz
4725 Highway 7
St. Louis Park, MN 55416