Chicago Police Heroes Recognized For Saving The Life Of Officer David Benitez With Make-Shift Tourniquet

Chicago Police Officer David benitez was saved by a make-shift tourniquet.

Chicago Heroes Saved Officer David Benitez With Tourniquet

Chicago – Several Chicago Police Officers were honored for their heroic actions in saving the life of fellow Officer David Benitez who had been shot by a crazed gunman in a neighborhood park.

According to ABC7 News, Officer Eugenio Tirado said, “When you see your brother laying there. When they put a towel and you see that towel just get soaked – it was a yellow towel – and you see it get completely soaked up with blood, you knew right then it was pretty bad.”

The shooting occurred on July 21, 2016 at a South loop neighborhood park where Chicago police said they were responding to a 911 call. As Officer David Benitez approached a man acting strange and talking on the phone. When Officer David Benitez asked the man to hang up the phone so they could talk, the man pulled out a gun and open fire, striking Officer Benitez in the thigh.

According to the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation the following officers were recognized for their heroic efforts during this dangerous shooting:

• Officer David Benitez
• Officer Juan Rivera
• Officer Alfonso Herrera
• Officer Eugenio “Tito” Tirado

The Chicago Police Memorial Foundation provided a summary of the incident that details the heroes applying a make-shift tourniquet to Officer David Benitez. The summary in part read:

“Without warning, the offender fired in the direction of Officer Benitez, striking him in the left thigh. Each officer returned fire and neutralized the threat. Once the scene was secured, Officer Rivera ran back to Officer Benitez, who had fallen down on one knee. Benitez instructed Rivera to give him his belt to use as a makeshift tourniquet. Without hesitation, Rivera removed his duty belt and his pants belt, which he and Benitez used to wrap around the injured thigh to slow the bleeding. Benitez further instructed Rivera to apply pressure on the wound until assisting units arrived and an actual tourniquet replaced the belt. Unwilling to wait for an ambulance to arrive, officers on-scene placed Benitez into a CPD vehicle and transported him to Northwestern Memorial Hospital.”

Officer Benitez was quoted by ABC7News saying, “It was surreal getting shot. Everything seemed in slow motion. The time it took to get to the hospital was about eight minutes or something like that. It seemed like an hour, or two hours. It seemed very long.”

Officer Alfonzo Herrera, who responded to assist Officer Benitez was quoted saying, “This incident happened in 2 to 5 seconds. In 2 to 5 seconds, your life can change. I’m just glad that I was there.”

Responding officers arrived on scene and were able to return fire and kill the suspect before then quickly applying a tourniquet to Officer Benitez’s leg and racing him to a local hospital in a police car.

This is important because tourniquets are not a standard piece of equipment issued by departments, and the lives of police officers often depend on them. This case with Officer Benitez is a stark reminder about how quickly a tourniquet becomes a life or death piece of necessary equipment.

When an officer needs a tourniquet, likely there are only minutes or second remaining before the officer can bleed-out, making blood loss an immediate threat to the wounded officer. In those circumstances, a tourniquet can become a life saver.  If you want to participate in Blue Lives Matter membership, Blue Lives Matter will donate RATS tourniquets to officers all across the nation.

Hiram Grau, Chicago Police Memorial Foundation Board Member, was quoted as saying, “These guys are typical. And I have to emphasize that they are typical of the dedicated, hard-working police officers that work the streets every single day with the Chicago Police Department. There might be a perception that the officers are anything but that, but these guys prove that the city is in good hands.”

Officer David Benitez made a a full recovery and has reportedly planned to participate in the Chicago Marathon in October 2017.

If you have comment for these heroes, or if you have questions about the Blue Lives Matter membership program, feel free to leave a comment below, or on our Facebook page.

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