Attorney donates trauma kits

Local attorney Ken Nunn has donated more than 425 medical trauma packs to area law enforcement agencies.

The Patrol Trauma Pak includes a tourniquet, gauze and chest seals that can be stored in an officer’s ballistic vest. Officers can use the packs to treat open wounds caused by gunshots or knives on themselves, their fellow officers or injured civilians until medical help arrives.

Nunn said he got the idea to donate the packs when he heard the Indianapolis Police Department used trauma packs and that the pack saved the life of an officer who had been shot.

“I have a tremendous respect for everyone in the law enforcement community,” Nunn said. “I wondered, if a big city like Indianapolis has these packs, what about a small community like Bloomington?”

After making a few phone calls, Nunn learned local departments didn’t have the budget for the trauma packs, so he made a donation to the Bloomington Police Department, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, the IU Police Department and police departments in Ellettsville and Bedford.

Captain Joe Qualters of the BPD said this is the first time Bloomington Police officers have had the opportunity to utilize trauma packs.

Nunn’s donation allows for each BPD officer to carry a Patrol Trauma Pak on his or her person. It will also enable the Department’s Critical Incident Response Team to include the packs as part of their available equipment when they are called out, according to a press release from the City of Bloomington.

Qualters said the most common injuries police officers suffer are muscle strains and joint sprains from subduing or pursuing a suspect.

“Thankfully, we have not had any serious injuries with officers being shot or stabbed, and we hope that continues to be the case,” Qualters said. “The trauma packs, however, will allow for some level of emergency treatment if it does occur and allows officers to treat citizen victims until the arrival of emergency medical personnel.”

Nunn said the trauma packs were developed for soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“It is a proven device in the military,” Nunn said. “A soldier might bleed out from a wound before the medics get to him, but this trauma pack gives him a chance until help arrives.”

Qualters said officers have received the necessary preparation to use the trauma packs at a recent in-service department training.

The packs are scheduled to arrive mid-November and will be distributed to officers immediately, Qualters said.

“I hope that these packs will make a difference for our local law enforcement and hopefully be able to save a life one day,” Nunn said.

Follow reporter Brianna Meyer on Twitter @brimmeyer.