Doctors who operated on a Denver Police officer shot during a traffic stop credited EMTs' work with saving his life.
“I should note the paramedics did a phenomenal job because those tourniquets they put on in the field saved his life. He lost so much blood that his heart almost stopped when he arrived. Those tourniquets clearly saved his life," Dr. Gene Moore said after Tony Lopez Jr.'s first surgery.
Police say Jason Wood shot Lopez several times, hitting him with five bullets. Lopez has undergone three major surgeries since the shooting last week, and doctors have been optimistic about his recovery.
A Denver officer and paramedics applied the tourniquet. Denver Police are now training their own force on this life-saving procedure.
Among the 400 officers learning how to properly make tourniquets is Tony Lopez Sr. The wounded officer's father is a commander with Denver Police.
"This is the first time I've had an opportunity since the critical incident that my son was involved in last week," Lopez Sr. said in a Denver Police video. "If Dan hadn't applied that tourniquet - he was mortally wounded. He would not have survived the ride to Denver Health."
"He' strong. He's a remarkable young man," the commander said of his son.
Denver paramedics showed the officers how to do the procedure on themselves. Watch the video below.
TONY SR. TAKES TOURNIQUET TRAININGTourniquets save lives. Denver Police District 1 Officer Tony Lopez Jr. can vouch for that and today, his dad, Denver Police - District 6 Commander Tony Lopez Sr., took that same training that saved his son's life last Tuesday. In fact, 300 to 400 additional Denver Police officers will take that training in the coming days. And thanks to the Denver Police Foundation, our officers are equipped with "Gun Shot Trauma Kits" that include these life-saving tourniquets.
Posted by Denver Police Department on Monday, December 14, 2015
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