Dallas Officers Grateful For Private Donations Of Critical Equipment
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DALLAS (CBS11) - Volunteers are pitching in to help Dallas police be better prepared for another event like the deadly July 7 ambush downtown.
Dallas officers know the next mass casualty event could happen anywhere in the city, and some community leaders are working to make sure they have what they need when it does.
After the July 7 ambush, many wanted to know what they could do to help.
Carol Archer, who has friends on the force, started collecting donations when she learned what officers said they needed.
"I never spent so much money buying things that I hope never need to be used," Archer said.
At a quarterly crime watch meeting, some officers mentioned the need for medical gear they can use to buy time for the injured until paramedics arrive. Archer raised $10,000 to buy medical kits and tourniquets for individual officers to have on them.
"Having equipment when you need it is vital for not only our survival but the survival of whoever we're assisting at that time," Dallas Police Sgt. Ivan Gunter said.
He and Dallas Police Lt. Juan Salas told CBS11 they're grateful to see members of the community express so much support for them and their colleagues.
"We have always known that, but we have never seen it like after July the 7th. We know that most of the people that we serve are the good people," Lt. Salas said.
Officers hope to deploy the mass casualty kits in police vehicles in strategic locations to cover as much area as possible, so wherever the next attack happens, help is nearby.
"This is the kind of thing that they have to think about every day, and I just have so much respect for people that will do that," Archer said.
The medical kits are just the beginning.
Archer is already coordinating efforts to buy military grade body armor to protect officers against high-caliber rounds like the ones used in the July attacks.
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