A Fort Worth police officer who was shot three times on Tuesday may have been saved by a new trauma kit that fellow officers started carrying just hours before he was wounded.
Officer John Bell, a 21-year veteran, was shot in Haltom City by a drug suspect who ran from officers, police said.
Haltom City police Lt. Terri Stayer was one of the first on the scene and helped stop Bell’s bleeding with a small kit she had recently decided to buy for the department.
"This was about two weeks ago she ordered them,” Haltom City Police Cpl. Joe Hackfeld said Wednesday. “They came in Monday. She handed them out yesterday morning to everybody."
Little did Stayer know that she would use one herself -- hours later -- on a fellow officer.
The trauma kit costs $44 and is manufactured by Officer Survival Solutions. It comes complete with plastic gloves and a cloth coated with a chemical that helps stop bleeding. The kit fits in an officer’s uniform pocket or inside a bullet-proof vest.
"(It was) very fortunate she had that with her,” Hackfeld said. "It's nice to have something and be able to try and help."
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Bell continued to recover Wednesday after reportedly having surgery.
