There are many things to learn from watching this video, but my emphasis is on what happened after the shooting.

I often talk about how to prevent being involved in a confrontation. Someone recently asked me why the person who was shot in another video I discussed didn’t receive medical attention from the responding officers.

What Happened After This Shooting Caught on Body Cam

This is a separate case that recently happened in Chicago. The officer on top of the individual in this video is a Field Training Officer (FTO). A couple of people have said the second officer was fresh out of the academy (I haven’t been able to 100% confirm this, but the pieces fit).

This article is NOT ABOUT TACTICS and what could have been done better. Its focus is after the shots are fired.

In the body cam, the man tells officers to kill him as they wrestle over his gun. The younger officer dropped his firearm during the altercation to help the FTO. After several seconds, two shots were fired during the struggle on the floor. The individual clearly was not going to allow himself to be arrested and ended up getting shot. He even said multiple times, “Shoot me.”

After the shots are fired, it goes from bad to worse. The younger officer, who did not fire his weapon, runs out to the squad car to get a first aid kit, then returns to the house.

• It appears the officer had no medical supplies on him. Not even a tourniquet (TQ)
• When he looks for a medical kit, it is not readily accessible, and when he opens the trunk, he rummages through things, looking for what he needs.
• The gloves to prevent blood contamination are not in the kit. If they are, he is not aware of it. Again, those few seconds could mean the difference between life and death.

You often hear the term “Individual First Aid Kit” (IFAK) when referring to a small medical first aid kit someone would carry.

It was almost a minute before the officer returned and would have been ready to render aid. I don’t think there was any chance of saving the guy, even if they could have immediately treated his wound.

The suspect did not survive, but neither officer was physically injured. Emotional trauma for the officers involved is a different story.

WARNING: This is for training and awareness; some people will find it difficult to watch. Not as much because of the medical aspect, but you can feel the officer’s emotions. It does an excellent job of showing what these guys go through.

The full video can be seen here. All of the case files are here that have been released by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA).

How Long Does It Take to Bleed Out From a Gunshot?

A person can bleed to death in as little as 2 minutes if someone doesn’t stop the bleeding. The average time it takes for a person to bleed out following severe physical trauma, such as a gunshot wound, is between three and five minutes. The average response time for emergency personnel is 7 to 10 minutes. In some areas, this wait time can be considerably longer.

In the image, you can see how easily it is to carry a tourniquet you can get to quickly. This is on the holster of an officer from the Allen, Texas, Police Department. This department responded to the Allen Mall mass shooting in May 2023. In this incident, people who had been shot were receiving critical care, including tourniquets, before emergency medical help had arrived.

A tourniquet can easily be carried even if you do not have room for a full IFAK. Different types are available, including the one shown above that attaches right to your holster, made by RDR Gear. Even if you conceal carry, options are available, like the Flatpack that goes on the Phlster Enigma.

Bleeding out can happen fast, and seconds count. I was at the Texas DPS facility outside Austin a few months ago. I got to talking with a combat medic, who told me of a story where he had to stick his finger in a wound to stop the bleeding. His finger remained there in flight and all the way to the hospital. Fortunately, the person survived, but I could tell it was something that the medic would remember forever.

Should You Provide First Aid to Your Attacker?

That’s a question there is no straightforward answer to. Is the scene safe? Are you trained to provide first aid? Can someone else provide aid? This is a topic of its own. I will emphasize that not all incidents are safe, and treating the injured is not always practical.

Your personal safety comes first.

I’m a strong advocate of being able to provide medical care, and “Stop the Bleed” is available all over the country. The program is available for anyone to attend, even if you are the average person wanting to learn what to do if you are the one who needs help.

I started at a small volunteer fire department in Huntertown, Indiana. My partner and I worked for ourselves, so we frequently had to grab the equipment to drive to the scene because we were the closest ones to the department. Let me tell you, back then, training included a lot of “baptism by fire.” Thirty years later, and I still remember some “I wish someone would have told me that before moments.”

For a while, I worked out of a hospital in Huntington, Indiana, that covered the entire county, so response times could end up being on the high side. I even spent some time working in the emergency room at Parkview Hospital in Ft. Wayne.
Needless to say, times have changed, and equipment has come a long way since then. Heck, back then, tourniquets were not on your go-to list of things to use, and now it seems like you are seeing them in a lot of everyday carry pocket dumps on Facebook.
With that being said, I thought I would start an ongoing series about emergency care, including caring for someone in a high-stress situation.

Why is emergency first aid so important?

Knowing how to give emergency first aid can mean the difference between life and death in a life-threatening situation. No matter where you are—at home, at work, or in public—unexpected things can occur at any time, so it is important that your training includes emergency medical care. I’m going to write a series of articles about why it’s important to know emergency first aid, who can benefit from learning it, and what kind of training is available.

Studies have identified bleeding as the most frequent preventable cause of death in trauma, accounting for 40% of trauma-related deaths globally. It is the #1 cause of preventable death from injuries involving bleeding.

How important is it to know first aid in an emergency?

Accidents can happen to anybody, and having emergency first aid knowledge can make a significant difference in how you respond to such situations. Understanding the fundamentals of first aid will allow you to treat an injured person immediately and stop their injuries from getting worse, improving their chances of survival.

For example, suppose someone has stopped breathing or is having a heart attack. In that case, CPR can keep blood and oxygen flowing to vital organs until help arrives.

According to the “STOP THE BLEED” training, the average time for a person to die from bleeding is between 2 and 5 minutes. The average time for EMS to arrive is between 7 and 10 minutes. By the time help gets to you, it may be too late.

When every second counts, what you do and how you do it can save someone’s life.

Who should learn emergency first aid?

Everybody, regardless of age or the environment they are in, can benefit from learning emergency first aid. However, it is more important for some people than others. For example, parents should learn first aid because children are more likely to get hurt.

People who carry a firearm daily have an increased chance of running into a situation involving heavy bleeding.

Outdoor enthusiasts like hikers and campers should learn first aid skills because they are more likely to have medical emergencies in remote areas where professional help is unavailable.

Types of First Aid Training

Various organizations provide training for people of all ages and skill levels. Basic first aid classes often cover topics including evaluating an accident scene, treating minor injuries, and CPR.

Advanced courses, like “wilderness first aid,” might teach more complicated stuff, like how to treat injuries in remote areas.

You can find “tactical” classes, for lack of a better term, that will go into greater depth on what to do in a high-threat environment. The National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) even had a TECC for Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders (TECC-LEO) class.

Conclusion

Everyone should know how to offer first aid in an emergency, and it’s never too late to learn. By taking a course on first aid, you’ll be better prepared to deal with emergencies. Remember that being prepared for an emergency can greatly affect a situation’s outcome. It all starts with knowing what to do.