NCJ Number
201732
Journal
Law Enforcement Trainer Volume: 18 Issue: 3 Dated: May/June 2003 Pages: 28-32
Date Published
May 2003
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the need for law enforcement first aid training, especially for life threatening extremity hemorrhage injuries.
Abstract
For law enforcement, life threatening extremity hemorrhage is the only injury that requires treatment. Realistic hemorrhage control is a critical life saving skill. Officers need a specialized set of first aid skills because they may be providing aid to themselves or a partner immediately after being injured. Most law enforcement departments provide limited medical training for an officer, usually centered on community services like basic first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and the rapid application of an automated external defibrillator. While most officer injuries in violent encounters need no medical treatment during the actual fight, any injury causing significant blood loss needs immediate attention if the officer is to survive. Appropriate and valuable tactical medical training needs to be conducted in a realistic environment. Since the skills of tactical first aid will be performed under stress in an actual event, they need to also be practiced under stress. Law enforcement trainers can safely stress officers by putting them in simulated shootings using simunitions. A realistic scenario includes the officer’s neutralizing the aggressor, evaluating his/her own injuries, and treating wounds if significant blood loss is found. Every minute is crucial when an officer could bleed to death. Only with intense and realistic tactical medical training can officers be given the experience and skill necessary to survive a violent encounter when injured.