Issue link: https://let.epubxp.com/i/237213
FI REARMS TACTI CS BY LINDSEY BERTOMEN To the NorCal MedTac team, realistic training means combining sound shooting tactics with sound rescue practices. A side of beef and similar training tools are powerful reinforcers. Who's responsible for saving lives? More law enforcement officers are receiving medical training beyond basic CPR S hould officers receive medical training beyond basic first responder or CPR competency? I think so. In a growing trend among law enforcement agencies the traditional role of officers has been redefined to include medical training. Although it may appear to blur some lines of responsibilities, this trend has brought lifesaving practices to the fight. Most will submit that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. For example, immediate care applied early is usually more effective than deliberate care administered in a less timely fashion. I interviewed Dr. Kevin Gerold, D.O., J.D., the Chairman of the National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA) Tactical Emergency Medical Support (TEMS) Section. In addition to his position, Gerold is the senior medical officer at the Johns Hopkins Center for Law Enforcement Medicine and a Special Deputy United States Marshall. He says that historically the tactical response to many situations was methodical. That is, a team would surround, and then contain, the incident. After Columbine trainers realized this type of approach could be costly. Now tactics includes quickly assembling an ad hoc team with the first one or two officers to arrive, after which they proceed directly toward the gunfire. Following the point in time when the immediate threat is extinguished there is a delay between the time the dust www.officer.com settles and the time medical professionals can enter a scene. This delay can be fatal to some victims. Dr. Gerold told me no one could overlook the tremendous amount of impact Columbine had on law enforcement. The methodical approach was entirely too slow. Our military also looked at patient care during battle and viewed combat associated deaths from delayed wound care as preventable casualties. That is, if timely, proper care had been applied the patient would have lived. They began to adjust the focus on a reasonable level of resources and a reasonable level of sophistication for improvement in patient care. The military concept of care was pushed down to the patrol level, January 2014 Law Enforcement Technology 27