Police officers need donations for life-saving tool
ANDERSON, Ind. (WISH) – They take an oath to serve and protect, but police officers at some departments have asked for the public’s help to do that job even better.
The Anderson Police Department along with several others hope to buy trauma kits. They are similar to a first aid kit, only more advanced. The tools inside do more than just throw a bandage over a cut. They could mean the difference between life or death, something the Anderson Police Department knows firsthand.
In a matter of seconds, Officer Brandon Grant showed a quick way to keep someone alive.
“(It) feels like there’s a heartbeat in your leg,” he said after wrapping a tourniquet around his thigh.
The tourniquet cuts off circulation, which is necessary when someone’s arm or leg is bleeding out from a wound.
A few years ago, Anderson Police Officer Marty Dulworth was in that exact situation. He was shot in the leg but didn’t have a tourniquet handy.
“They actually used a belt for a tourniquet but the problem with (it) was it took two people to hold the belt tight enough to use it as a tourniquet,” said Officer Grant.
The tourniquet wasn’t enough to save his leg but it saved his life. Now Grant wants to make sure all who wear the badge will have that chance thanks to trauma kits.
They’re small enough to fit in a pocket but feature all kinds of tools like gauze, gloves, and Quik Clot which you would drop into a wound to stop excessive bleeding. The problem is the department can’t afford them.
So it registered with an organization named Project Triage.
On the website, people can make donations to the department of their choice. And it’s not just Anderson PD that hopes the community steps up.
“Police officers have a responsibility to the preservation of life,” said Capt. Michael Barnes from Lapel Police Department.
He learned about Project Triage through Grant and quickly signed up his department. Barnes said the idea of getting these kits in the hands of his officers was a no brainer.
“Both police and just citizens lives are going to be saved, the more law enforcement carries this type of equipment with them,” he said.
The kits cost $50. Anderson PD hopes to buy 80 of them. Lapel is hoping for 20.
The Madison County Sheriff’s Office, Edgewood and Elwood police departments are also registered.
To make a donation to one of them, click here.