Every second counts when you’re treating a life-threatening gunshot or stab wound.
And because front line police officers are often the first people on the scene, far in advance of paramedics, they need to know what to do in those types of circumstances.
Members of the Corman Park Police Service (CPPS) and Dalmeny Police Service (DPS) received a crash course in late April on how to assess and treat major trauma injuries so that the victim has a fighting chance to live until they can be transferred to hospital by paramedics.
CPPS Constables Mike St. Arnaud and Lyle Rathgeber, both of whom are certified paramedics as well as police officers, provided a hands-on, practical lesson to their colleagues on how to deal with serious situations, including treating gunshot wounds in themselves or others while in the midst of a gun battle.
By using techniques and equipment tested and proven on military battlefields, including the experience of Canadian troops in Afghanistan, properly-trained police officers are often now able to stop arterial bleeding from gunshot and stab wounds in victims that a few years ago would have died from loss of blood in a few minutes.
Some of those techniques, such as the use of a tourniquet to stop the flow of blood to a severed artery in an arm or leg, have been around for a long time.
Others, like hemostatic agents and dressings to promote blood clotting and protect open wound areas, are more recent. The multi-purpose ‘Israeli bandage’, is used to stop bleeding from hemorrhagic wounds caused by traumatic injuries, but it can also be used as a sling, tensor bandage, or just about anything else required in a pinch.
While police officers receive basic first aid and CPR instruction as part of their regular police training, serious gunshot wounds take those front-line medical skills up to a whole new level.
Unfortunately, the increased use of firearms (an 81% increase in violent offences involving guns between 2009 and 2019) has made it necessary for police officers to master those skills.
According to Public Safety Canada, one in three murders committed in Canada involve fatal gunshot wounds. In 2020, there were 277 gun-related homicides in Canada.
“It’s important that police officers are able to provide immediate medical aid in the event of an arterial bleed,” said Corman Park Police Chief Ron Chomyn. “In a lot of situations, treating the wound is time-sensitive. Police officers in our department work in remote areas, and they could be called to motor vehicle collisions, shootings, farm accidents, all kinds of incidents.
“Advanced medical training is important because it could save a life.”
During the training session, St. Arnaud and Rathgeber used slides and videos to illustrate various types of injuries and how to treat them. At the start of the session, officers were coached on how to apply a tourniquet on themselves in order to stop the flow of blood from a gunshot wound to an arm or leg. They had 20 seconds to complete the task; that’s approximately how long it takes for the body to lose enough blood from a severed artery for the person to lose consciousness.
To make things even more challenging, the officer is assumed to be under fire when he or she is applying the tourniquet.
If an officer can get the tourniquet tight in that 20-second window, they’ve got a chance to “stay in the fight,” said St. Arnaud.
“Throughout the presentation we have ten examples where they will hear a gunshot, and on the screen there’s a message that will tell them where they’ve been shot – such as the right arm or the left leg,” St. Arnaud continued.
“By the end of the presentation, they’ll have had ten chances to react quickly and get the technique down pat. There’s very little time to think; it has to be an automatic reaction in order to have the highest chance of survival.”
He added the techniques are applicable to situations ranging from gunshot wounds to vehicle collision injuries and stabbings.
“Gunshot wounds are extremely serious, but the reality is that knives are every bit as lethal,” said Rathgeber. “I’d say there are more people carrying knives, and using them to commit crimes, than there were even a few years back.”
Rathgeber said while most people won’t ever have to deal with treating serious injuries, it’s a good idea for everyone to take basic first aid and CPR training for minor emergencies.
Police officers are carrying more equipment on them now than ever before. Corman Park Police officers are now equipped with emergency medical pouches that they can access easily with either hand in a crisis situation.
St. Arnaud said the advanced training is aimed at providing officers with the knowledge, equipment and confidence they need to respond to serious emergencies.
“Most police officers don’t have a medical background,” he said. “But they do come across a lot of trauma. They go to gun calls, they go to stabbings, they go to car accidents, and sometimes they’re the first on the scene, so by implementing what they’ve learned they can assess the injuries right away, and hopefully save a life.
“At the end of the day I want the officers to be able to assess trauma for themselves and for other people, and to know what tool will help them with the highest chance of survival.”