nothin Cops Save Shooting Victim’s Life | New Haven Independent

Cops Save Shooting Victim’s Life

Markeshia Ricks Photos

Officers Perrotti and Dash at 1 Union Ave.

Dash’s spare tourniquet that he uses to practice.

Officer Joseph Perrotti and another officer were at the District 4 substation on Edgewood Avenue wrapping up their work on a domestic violence incident when Perrotti heard gunshots.

He called it in and made his way to Edgewood and Kensington.

Not too far away on Sherman Avenue, Officer Gregory Dash was working on a report while his partner was driving. Perrotti’s call came in over the radio. They immediately headed over to the scene of the shooting, where there were lots of people milling around, usually a dead giveaway that something bad has happened.

Sure enough, a man was lying on the sidewalk bleeding.

I could immediately see the bright red arterial bleeding,” Perrotti recalled of the scene. It was about 8 p.m. on April 13; he and Dash got to work and quickly. They knew the bright red blood was a sign that the 22-year-old man didn’t have much time if he were going to survive his wound. Their training kicked in.

Perrotti, who trains other officers on using tourniquets.

Dash: Tourniquet gives everyone a chance to live.

Dash pulled out a tourniquet while Perrotti exposed the injury to confirm where on the man’s leg the blood was coming from.

Both men have taken part in recent New Haven Police Department training that outfitted officers with tourniquets for just these kinds of scenarios. It was the second time that Dash had used the training in the field and the first time for Perrotti, who actually helps teach it to other officers. (Read more about the training here.)

Dash, a former U.S. Army medic, said it’s a skill that, once learned, is easy to practice regularly. He has a spare tourniquet and practices so that when he needs it, his training and muscle memory take over.

That’s what happened that night in Dwight.

I saw the blood forcefully coming out of the wound,” Perotti said. Working together, Dash got the tourniquet around the man’s leg, while Perotti cinched it until the wound stopped bleeding.

He was in and out,” Dash said of the man’s consciousness. When we first got there he was alert. I was talking to him but after we put the tourniquet, he was out. I was trying to keep him awake.”

Perrotti estimated that from the time it took for him to call in the gunshots to the time where he and Dash got the tourniquet on the man wasn’t much more than two minutes. That’s good — because the man likely only had one more minute before he would have bled to death from his wound.

The quick actions of the officers bought the man time — time for an ambulance to get to the scene and race him to Yale-New Haven Hospital.

Dash rode to the hospital with the man. Perrotti stayed behind to secure the scene with a supervisor before heading to the hospital to talk to another man who had also been shot.

The man made it through surgery. Both officers said they were glad to have the training and tools to give the man another chance at living.

The shooting victim survived.

I’m extremely proud of these two officers. They represent the best of us,” said Acting Police Chief Otoniel Reyes.

This is what policing is all about. That’s why we sign up to do this work.”

Perrotti noted that the tourniquet, applied properly, stops the most immediate problem — the loss of blood — long enough to get someone to the hospital. He should know: When he’s not working as a police officer, he’s a registered nurse in emergency services.

It’s good for us and the community,” Perrotti said. It’s a win-win.”

Perrotti and Dash were among the officers who advocated for having officers keep the tourniquets on their person and at the ready. They would like to see the training continue in the department. It matches well with why they both got into the policing.

Dash, 27, who hails from East Hampton and has been with the department for three years and four months, became a police officer because he didn’t want a traditional 9 to 5 that would have trapped him at a desk punching a time card.

Every day is a new day,” he said of being a police officer. It’s the kind of job, especially in New Haven, where you can do so much. The opportunities here are more prevalent. It’s definitely very rewarding.”

Perotti, 31, who has been on the job five years, said he’s often asked which he likes better: being a nurse or being a cop.

There are not many jobs as rewarding as this,” Perrotti said of being a police officer. But it’s apples and oranges. You’re helping people but you’re doing it in two totally different ways.”

Read other installments in the Independent’s Cop of the Week” series: 

• Gregory Dash
Shafiq Abdussabur
Yessennia Agosto
Craig Alston & Billy White Jr.
Joseph Aurora
James Baker
Lloyd Barrett
Pat Bengston & Mike Valente
Elsa Berrios
Manmeet Bhagtana (Colon)
Paul Bicki
Paul Bicki (2)
Sheree Biros
Bitang
Scott Branfuhr
Bridget Brosnahan
Craig Burnett & Orlando Crespo
Keron Bryce and Steve McMorris
Keron Bryce and Osvaldo Garcia
Keron Bryce and Osvaldo Garcia (2)
Dennis Burgh
Anthony Campbell
Darryl Cargill & Matt Wynne
Elizabeth Chomka & Becky Fowler
Rob Clark & Joe Roberts
Sydney Collier
Carlos Conceicao
Carlos Conceicao (2)
Carlos Conceicao and Josh Kyle
David Coppola
Mike Criscuolo
Natalie Crosby
Steve Cunningham and Timothy Janus
Chad Curry
Roy Davis
Joe Dease
Milton DeJesus
Milton DeJesus (2)
Rose Dell
Brian Donnelly
Renee Dominguez, Leonardo Soto, & Mary Helland
Anthony Duff
Robert DuPont
Robert DuPont and Rose Dell
Eric Eisenhard & Jasmine Sanders
Jeremie Elliott and Scott Shumway
Jeremie Elliott (2)
Jose Escobar Sr.
Bertram Ettienne
Bertram Ettienne (2)
Martin Feliciano & Lou DeCrescenzo
Paul Finch
Jeffrey Fletcher
Renee Forte
Marco Francia
Michael Fumiatti
Michael Fumiatti (2)
William Gargone
William Gargone (2)
William Gargone & Mike Torre
Derek Gartner
Derek Gartner & Ryan Macuirzynski
Tom Glynn & Matt Williams
Jon Haddad & Daniela Rodriguez
Michael Haines
Michael Haines & Brendan Borer
Michael Haines & Brendan Borer (2)
Dan Hartnett
Ray Hassett
Robert Hayden
Patricia Helliger
Robin Higgins
Ronnell Higgins
William Hurley & Eddie Morrone
Derek Huelsman
Racheal Inconiglios
Juan Ingles
Bleck Joseph and Marco Correa
Shayna Kendall
Paul Kenney
Hilda Kilpatrick
Herb Johnson
John Kaczor & Alex Morgillo
Jillian Knox
Peter Krause
Peter Krause (2)
Amanda Leyda
Rob Levy
Anthony Maio
Dana Martin
Reggie McGlotten
Steve McMorris
Juan Monzon
Monique Moore and David Santiago
Matt Myers
Carlos and Tiffany Ortiz
Tiffany Ortiz
Doug Pearse and Brian Jackson
Chris Perrone
Joseph Perrotti
Ron Perry
Joe Pettola
Diego Quintero and Elvin Rivera
Ryan Przybylski
Stephanie Redding
Tony Reyes
David Rivera
Luis & David Rivera
Luis Rivera (2)
Salvador Rodriguez
Salvador Rodriguez (2)
Brett Runlett
David Runlett
Betsy Segui & Manmeet Colon
Allen Smith
Marcus Tavares
Martin Tchakirides
David Totino
Stephan Torquati
Gene Trotman Jr.
* Elisa Tuozzoli
Kelly Turner
Lars Vallin (& Xander)
Dave Vega & Rafael Ramirez
Earl Reed
Daophet Sangxayarath & Jessee Buccaro
Herb Sharp
Matt Stevens and Jocelyn Lavandier
Jessica Stone
Jessica Stone & Mike DeFonzo
Arpad Tolnay
Mike Torre & Ray Saracco
John Velleca
Manuella Vensel
Holly Wasilewski
Holly Wasilewski (2)
Alan Wenk
Stephanija VanWilgen
Elizabeth White & Allyn Wright
Matt Williams
Michael Wuchek
Michael Wuchek (2)
David Zannelli
Cailtin Zerella
Caitlin Zerella (2)
Caitlin Zerella, Derek Huelsman, David Diaz, Derek Werner, Nicholas Katz, and Paul Mandel
David Zaweski

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