SFPD News
SAN FRANCISCO — On October 9, 2016 at 6:35 PM, a 13 year-old boy was shot while standing on a sidewalk at Valencia & 26th Streets. Officers from Mission Station responded immediately, assessed the child’s injuries and began administering lifesaving first aid.
Officer Brandon Rock and Officer Raymond Fernandez saw the victim was bleeding heavily from a leg wound and applied direct pressure. To help slow the loss of blood, Officer Nadia Mohamed improvised and applied a makeshift tourniquet just above the wound until Officer Fernandez could provide a department issued tourniquet. The officers continued to secure the scene until San Francisco Fire Department paramedics arrived to transport the boy to San Francisco General Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery.
On Wednesday, January 11th, the San Francisco Fire Commission honored the officers with commendations for their quick thinking and actions which directly contributed to the victim surviving his injury. The officers have also been nominated for the San Francisco Police Department’s “Life Saving Award.
“I am very proud of these officers. Their actions exemplify why we’re known as San Francisco’s Finest,” said Interim Police Chief Toney Chaplin. “These officers and their counterparts across the City routinely respond to urgent calls for help. In this case, it was a shooting with a child down. The officers’ first responder training and their timely application of the tourniquet were crucial components of the child’s survival.”
The SFPD first began issuing Stretch-Wrap-And-Tuck Tourniquets in July, 2014. They are utilized in situations where there is severe bleeding and loss of life is a concern.
Officers have used these tourniquets on civilian victims on at least eight prior occasions that primarily involved gunshot wounds. The tourniquets were purchased with a grant from the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI).
While law enforcement agencies have recently begun to issue tourniquets to police officers, they are not yet standard equipment. The circumstances of October 9th and the eight prior incidents show how these simple but effective devices can be utilized to save lives.