Officer Released From Hospital After Shootout With Suspect
(CBS) -- An officer survives getting shot on the job, and a lifesaving class could be the main reason he's alive today.
CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot has the story.
The officer went through what's called Law Enforcement Medical and Rescue Training, or LEMART.
Officer Brian Berkowitz is an instructor. He says participants learn life-saving techniques in eight hours.
"That was proved last night when the officer put the tourniquet on his leg and was able to stop the bleeding and get to the hospital for definitive care," he says.
The LEMART kit includes a tourniquet device that attaches with Velcro.
About a decade of research went into the choosing the lifesaving items in this individual first aid kit the officer was wearing.
More than 2800 Chicago police officers have gone through the LEMART program, since 2013.
In Thursday night's South Loop shooting, the officer's partner was able to return fire when a suspect started shooting.
The suspect, who has numerous priors, was fatally shot.
The Independent Police Review Authority is investigating the shooting.
The officer who was injured in the shootout has been released from the hospital.