A 49-year-old man who was stabbed May 9 outside of a local bar may have died from his injuries if it hadn’t been for a Kalispell police officer’s use of a tourniquet.
According to Kalispell Police Chief Roger Nasset, officers began carrying tourniquets last fall after the department was awarded a grant through the Flathead Electric Cooperative’s RoundUp for Safety program.
The program awards grants to organizations by allocating money that Flathead Electric service members contribute by rounding their monthly bills up to the next dollar. On average, it adds about $8 to a home’s electricity bills each year.
“It’s nice when you have a program like this that has been doing a great thing for so long, and in this case we can show a direct benefit,” Nasset said. “It saved this victim’s life.”
Nasset said a member of the Kalispell Police Department’s SWAT Team, Ben Sutton, learned of the importance of tourniquets during his SWAT training, then took the initiative of applying for a grant through the RoundUp for Safety Program.
“He learned of the life saving abilities of tourniquets, not only to fellow officers but also to victims and suspects, and the important ability of applying immediate first aid, especially in a situation where there is major trauma and significant bleeding,” Nasset said. “The chance of survival is much greater if a tourniquet is properly applied immediately rather than waiting for medical personnel to arrive.”
In the early morning hours of May 9, police responded to a report of a stabbing in the parking lot of a bar on U.S. Highway 2 West, Nasset said. The man had suffered multiple stab and slashing wounds, mainly to his extremities, and witnesses to the assault were attempting to stanch the profuse bleeding.
Officer Jesse Allen immediately applied a tourniquet to what he observed was an arterial bleed on the man’s left leg.
Medical staff later acknowledged that the stabbing victim might have succumbed to his injuries if it were not for the proper application of a tourniquet.
The suspect in the case, 36-year-old Justin Gallery, of Kalispell, was arrested May 14and is in custody on a bail amount of $75,000.
The victim, also of Kalispell, underwent emergency surgery and has since been released from the hospital.
According to Kalispell Police Detective Andy Haag, the investigation is ongoing and additional charges may be filed.
“There may be other individuals involved,” he said.
Nasset said the RoundUp for Safety program has also provided funds to purchase ballistic helmets and medical kits for the SWAT team.