RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Chicago Police Department Officers Alejandro Cabral and Juan Zuniga of the Fourth Police District have been credited with saving the life of a 24-year-old shooting victim on July 6, 2016 in the Bush neighborhood on the South Side: and
WHEREAS, Officers Cabral and Zuniga responded lo a report of a person shol at approximately 7:30 p.m. in the 8400-block of South Mackinaw Avenue; and
WHEREAS, Upon arrival at the scene. Officers Cabral and Zuniga found a man hunched over a fence who was bleeding from inside his jacket; and
WHEREAS, Officer Cabral, a veteran of the United States Army, and Officer Zuniga, a veteran ofthe United States Navy, applied pressure to ihe man's wound; and
WHEREAS, But when those efforts failed to stop the bleeding, Officer Cabral grabbed a QuikClol Combat Gauze from the first aid kil inside his vest and applied it lo the man's wound: and
WHEREAS, Officers Cabral had used the combat gauze during his Army training and on civilians while serving in Afghanistan; and
WHEREAS, Officer Cabral purchased the gauze using his department allowance and said that every Chicago police officer should be supplied with the quick-clotting gauze: and
WHEREAS, The expert and speedy intervention by the officers helped to control the wounded man's bleeding until paramedics arrived; and
WHEREAS, Paramedics rushed the victim to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in critical condition; and
WHEREAS, QuikCIot Combat Gauze is impregnated with kaolin, a mineral that accelerates the body's natural clotting ability, which helps control bleeding until additional medical attention can be sought; and
WHEREAS, As evidenced by the efforts of Officers Cabral and Zuniga, QuikCIot Combat Gauze is easy to use and can help people survive traumatic bleeding, including first respondcrs who may get hurt in the line of duty; and
WHEREAS, QuikCIot Combat Gauze is used by many municipalities across the United States, putting live-saving products in the hands of law enforcement officials who are often the first points of care on a scene; and
WHEREAS, According lo its manufacturer, Combat Gauze and similar products are currently used by law enforcement agencies such as the Austin Police Department, Boston Police Department, Chicago Police Department SWAT, Dallas Police Department, Los Angeles Police Department SWAT, Massachusetts State Police, New Orleans Police Department, New Jersey-State Police, Orange County Sheriffs Department, Pennsylvania State Police, San Antonio Police Department, Vermont Slate Police, Washington State Police, and by all law enforcement officers in the State of New York; and
WHEREAS, More than 3000 Chicago police officers have successfully completed the
Police Department's Law Enforcement Medical and Rescue Training (L.E.M.A.R.T.) Course; and
WHEREAS, Chicago Police Department directives authorize members who have successfully completed the Police Department's L.E.M.A.R.T. course lo carry an individual first aid kit: and
WHEREAS, Individual first aid kids are not currently provided to police officers by the Chicago Police Department; now therefore
AlderXan Edward M. Burke 14lh Ward
BE IT RESOLVED, That wc, the members of the Chicago Cily Council, do hereby urge the Chicago Police Department to make individual first aid kits containing a hemostatic product such as QuikCIot Combat Gauze standard issue to all police officers who have successfully completed the Police Department's L.E.M.A.R.T. course.