Quick thinking by two young Toronto Police Service officers with tourniquets probably saved the life of a stabbing victim.
On February 1, Constables Tyler Baptist and Jeffrey Pierre of 55 Division were in their car writing a report for a call they had attended when a radio call came in for a person with a knife.
“When we learned that someone had been stabbed and was bleeding profusely, we put that report on hold and rushed to the scene,” said Baptist. “When we got there, a lady told us her friend was stabbed and he was in the basement.”
Unsure if the suspect was still in the building, the officers cautiously approached the basement.
“When we got down there, the victim was slouched over in the bathroom and there was lots of blood on the ground and the wall,” Baptist said. “His T-shirt was soaked in blood and there was also blood coming from his head.”
The victim told Pierre who was close by that he was stabbed multiple times.
“I picked up some clothing on the ground told him I needed to put pressure on his stomach wounds,” said Pierre. “He was screaming in agony.”
Baptist, in the meantime, went to his squad car to retrieve a first-aid kit.
“As I got back to the basement, I uncovered his left forearm and noticed there was a large laceration,” said Baptist. “His entire forearm was basically cut open. I pulled out the tourniquet and affixed it to his bicep area.”
Paramedics arrived soon after and took the victim to hospital.
“Before transporting the victim to hospital, the paramedics removed his shirt and there was a stab wounds in his chest and forehead area,” said Baptist.
The suspect was arrested near the scene.
Both officers, who recently underwent the two-day first-aid re-certification training program, have been on the job about 18 months.
“These officers are fairly new on the job,” said Superintendent Kim O’Toole. “They were equipped with the right tools to make the right decisions that probably ended up saving a life. I am so proud of them and the work they did and I have recommended them for several awards. In the last two years, this Division has had 60 new recruits and it is good to see they are able to employ the training and act quickly.”
O’Toole said tourniquets are a critical and essential tool for frontline officers.
TPS is rolling out tourniquets to officers who have been trained.
“When I was the Unit Commander at the College, discussions were being held with Occupational Health & Safety about issuing tourniquets,” she said. “The First Aid program was amended to include tourniquets because we recognize the importance of having them and the fact that they actually save lives in critical incidents. If this tourniquet was not applied at the time, it is quite likely the individual would not have survived.”