VIDEO: Each law enforcement agency in Raleigh County receives Stop the Bleed kits

BECKLEY, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Thanks to a state grant and help from the Raleigh County Commission, each law enforcement agency within the county will receive a Stop the Bleed kit which could be a crucial tool in saving a life during a bleeding emergency.

The kits were distributed to municipal, county, and state agencies on Tuesday at the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Department Headquarters.

The kits were obtained through a West Virginia Department of Homeland Security grant and a training kit was purchased with assistance from the Raleigh County Commission.

The grant award was $20,000 in total, which allowed the sheriff’s department to purchase 200 kits for officers and departments.

Lt. Jason Redden with the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Office applied for the grant on behalf of the sheriff’s office and said the kits contain everything an officer would need to stop a bleeding emergency.

“The Stop the Bleed kits are a specific packet designed with such things as a tourniquet, specialized gauze that has QuikClot agent in it, it has shears and gloves, anything an officer might need to stop someone from bleeding,” Redden said.

Redden says there are many causes that could result in the use of one of these kits.

“Somebody could fall and be hurt, we could be involved in some type of shooting incident or could’ve been a domestic, a stabbing,” Redden explained.

“These can come in handy in a lot of different situations especially when a lot of times a police officer who’s already out on the road patrolling, maybe right on top of an incident where you have to wait for first responders or an EMS unit to come from a station or far away.”

Redden says the kits will be distributed to each law enforcement officer in Raleigh County, and that there even be some extra kits left over if they are needed.

The training kit will allow each officer to receive training on how to use the kits if that need arises.

May is the 6th annual National STOP THE BLEED® Month and the 7th annual National STOP THE BLEED® Day will be on May 23.