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A partnership between the Indianapolis police union and a church is hoping to provide 1,500 trauma kits to city officers.
The Fraternal Order of Police and Father’s House Church on the east side distributed 100 kits, Wednesday, to Northwest District officers.
FOP First Vice President Rick Snyder says each kit costs about $100, but is invaluable when needed such as in July of 2008 when IMPD officer Jason Fishburn was shot in the head while tracking down a robbery suspect.
He survived the shooting thanks in part to a fellow officer using a trauma kit during the incident. Since then, Snyder said it’s been a goal to equip each officer with a kit.
"From that point forward, many of the officers who were involved in that incident began working to try to put together a project that would fund the capability of putting a similar type trauma kit into the hands of every IMPD police officer," said Snyder. "Each one of these kits are approximately $100 a piece and so it's difficult to secure that funding within the police department's budget."
Snyder says they are not only important for officer safety, but for safety of those they have vowed to serve and protect.
Last month, when kits were distributed to the East and Southeast districts, an officer used one within 24-hours to treat a child who had been critically injured in a drive-by shooting, saving his life.
"These absolutely are a benefit to the community," said Snyder. "Even though these kits are $100 a piece, they really are priceless when it comes to saving someone’s life."
About 200 other kits will be distributed in the coming weeks to officers in the North, Southwest and Downtown districts.
The FOP needs to raise $150,000 to provide a trauma kit to every IMPD officer.
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