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Westchester County Executive George Latimer recognized Officer Christopher Dani on Thursday in White Plains for using skills he learned during a "Stop the Bleed," program just five days after taking the in-service training.
Dani, an 11-year member of the Department of Corrections, was off-duty when he came upon an accident on the Hutchinson River Parkway, finding a motorcyclist who had suffered an injury to his arm, which was severed from his body just below the shoulder.
At this point, Dani’s recent training kicked in. He fashioned a tourniquet from his belt and secured it to the victim's arm, instructing him to remain calm and to focus on his breathing.
Dani held the tourniquet in place until EMS arrived and transported the man to the Jacobi Hospital in the Bronx. Although the man's arm could not be reattached, without Dani’s selflessness he would likely have bled to death.
During the ceremony, County Executive Latimer and Correction Commissioner Joseph Spano presented Dani, of New Rochelle, with the Westchester County Department of Correction’s Life-Saving Medal.
“What we did here is both recognizing the actions of Dani, while also reinforcing the importance of trauma-related training for law enforcement officers in our County and in surrounding counties," said Latimer. "Even while off duty, correction officers and police may happen upon serious emergencies – and that is why Westchester County government devotes the time and money to train them in life-saving scenarios.”
Uncontrolled bleeding is a major cause of preventable deaths. Approximately 40 percent of trauma-related deaths worldwide are due to bleeding or its consequences, establishing hemorrhage as the most common cause of preventable death in trauma-involved events.
As a countywide initiative, Westchester has strategically placed bleeding control kits alongside the AEDs that are maintained in its parks, office buildings and other county facilities.
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