Two JPD officers win "Save A Life Award"

JONESBORO, Ark. – Two Jonesboro police officers have been chosen as the winners of the Stop the Bleeding Foundation’s inaugural “Save a Life Award.”

The Stop the Bleeding Foundation, a non-profit organization, was begun by Dr. Spencer Guinn of Jonesboro, an orthopedic surgeon who has combat surgery experience with the United States Army in Iraq.

The foundation’s motto is “See something. Do Something. Save a life.”

Sgt. Trey Dupuy and Cpl. Jason Chester were recognized for their efforts to save the life of a teenager trapped for hours in a drainage structure below a Jonesboro street when torrential rains and flooding struck the area on May 24. The officers were cited for their “heroic actions in the direct rescue” of the teen.

“Your diligence and timing were both crucial and, without question, saved a life,” the inscriptions on the award plaques read.

The foundation provides life-saving medical training and equipment to law enforcement officers, firefighters, EMS and civilian first responders.

The objective is to train and equip first responders in order to better prepare them to care for themselves or those around them, by using combat-tested, life-saving techniques and gear.

The foundation’s programs meet the principles of Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (TECC) and it provides Recognized Educational Content as set forth by the Committee for TECC (C-TECC).  The C-TECC is an organization dedicated to developing evidence-based and best practice trauma care guidelines for civilian high-threat pre-hospital environments.

The foundation is raising funds for 2,000 medical kits called IFAK – Individual First Aid Kits –  to give to first responders in the region and to train them in the use of the kits. Guinn has said the main cause of preventable deaths is hemorrhage or bleeding to death. He said the lesson learned in Iraq and Afghanistan is that if people are trained every day to treat active bleeding,  lives can be saved.

Jonesboro police officers carry tourniquets and have been trained in their use. Since officers began to carry the life-saving item, they have recorded several hemorrhage-stopping “saves” using tourniquets.

Pictured (from the left) are Toby Emerson, vice-president of the Stop the Bleeding Foundation’s board of directors; Sgt. Trey Dupuy, JPD; Cpl. Jason Chester, JPD; and Jeremy McIntire, secretary-treasurer of the Foundation’s board.

Information from Paul Holmes, JPD