Waunakee Community Foundation grant funds trauma kits for police

While Chief Adam Kreitzman is thankful for the new compact trauma kits to be included in every Waunakee squad car, he hopes his officers will never have to use them.

Still, in a worst-case scenario, they could save an officer’s life.

Thanks to an $1,100 grant from the Waunakee Community Foundation, Kreitzman has been able to put together the trauma kits for every squad car in the department.

He said he learned about their use during the Wisconsin State Police Chief’s Conference in Wisconsin Dells last February when a sergeant from a department in Indianapolis relayed a heartfelt story. Another officer was shot in the line of duty, and the officer with him who had served in the military carried a similar trauma kit and was able to keep him alive until EMS arrived.

The sergeant then started a nonprofit to build kits and ensure everyone in the department had one.

“That resonated with me,” Kreitzman said, adding that today, as active shooter incidents are on the rise, having the life-saving equipment ready can be essential.

The trick is to keep them small, as responders can carry only so much. And when police are responding to a shooting, they’re weighed down with a patrol rifle and a shield. A standard EMS kit is too large.

Kreitzman consulted with Waunakee’s Deputy EMS Chief, Dustin Riggs, who helped assemble and price out the items for the kits.

They include a chest seal to seal a gunshot wound, emergency bandage, gauze, tourniquets, and a nasopharyngeal airway device, along with shears and other tools to treat bullet or stab wounds.

“This isn’t going to fix everything; it’s to buy time until EMS can get there,” Kreitzman said.

His goal was to make the kits as compact as possible. They can attach to the headrest of the squad cars, so they’re easy for an officer to grab, he said. And, they come equipped with clips so officers can attach them to a belt loop.

Kreitzman sees the kits as a way to increase safety for officers and the public.

“The policing profession is very dangerous,” he said. As he has moved up in the ranks and is now supervising others, he is responsible for not only his own safety, but all officers on the shift, he added.

“I want people to feel like we have everything to help them if they’re in need,” he said.

Kreitzman said he is grateful for the Waunakee Community Foundation and their ongoing support of the department.

The foundation helped raise funds to launch the department’s K-9 program several years ago and has supported it since. It also funded plate carriers, or vests that can stop a rifle round. With Endres Manufacturing contributing as well, the foundation equipped the department with ballistic helmets.

“We are fortunate to live in a community that has a foundation like this willing to help us out,” Kreitzman said.

The recent incident in Mount Horeb along with an active shooter training last month at the former Heritage Elementary School in Waunakee are reminders of what could occur.

“I hope we never have to use them,” Kreitzman said.