Benton Police officers constantly train for worst case scenarios so that if an Active Shooter situation or a shootout with suspects unfortunately occurs in the city, they will be prepared to minimize deaths and injuries, and prepare to best protect citizens. Clayton Goddard, special operations manager for Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services (MEMS), conducted an 8-hour class on Law Enforcement First Responder Tactical Casualty Care for more than 20 BNPD officers (with more expected to take the class at a later time).
Goddard said one of the key components to TCC is teaching officers how to correctly apply tourniquets, pressure gauzes, and bandaging chest/abdominal wounds. He said the main three objectives of TCC are: 1. Complete the mission (suppress the threat, secure the scene, and ensure fire superiority); 2. Treat the casualty; and 3. Prevent additional casualties. Goddard said when people are injured the faster they can be bandaged or have tourniquets applied to stop the bleeding, the victim’s chance for survival dramatically increases.
Goddard also said that having officers TCC trained also increases the resources for paramedics and EMS trained firefighters, and will improve communication with all first responders. Officers learned how quickly the chances for a person’s survival decreases with the amount of blood loss (what occurs between 10 percent, 20 percent, 30 percent, 40 percent and 50 percent blood loss). Officers learned not only how to apply tourniquets and bandages to fellow officers, they also learned how to apply tourniquets to themselves.
After taking a written test, the officers traveled to a firing range to put into action what they learned in the classroom. Officers put into muscle memory how to self-apply a tourniquet to an arm, how to safely unload and place their handgun under their bent knee (in the event of one arm being shot and unusable), how to single-handedly load an ammo magazine, and how to chamber the weapon single-handedly against an object. Officers also worked on new communication during a simulation of bandaging and dragging a wounded victim to safety while being shot at.
The BNPD officers are hopeful they and citizens never have to encounter any Active Shooter type situations in this community, but if it should unfortunately occur, they will be prepared to protect lives.