A St. Louis man is helping out police officers all over St. Louis County one tourniquet at a time.
It's his way of giving back to the community and helping law enforcement save lives.
Mark Benkelmann's son just graduated from the peace officer academy in Ohio. Mark says he found a way to help him out, “I put together a bunch of items that police departments don't provide for their officers.” The items included tourniquets.
“It just made sense for my wife and I that we should do this for all the other officers who don't have them so, his graduating class we bought one for each of them," Mark said.
Mark is now buying the life saving device for law enforcement, including Richmond Heights police and St. Louis County officers on the metro link unit.
Officer Ed Schlueter is grateful for the gift.
Schlueter and another county officer used a tourniquet for the first time just a few weeks ago at apartment complex on man who was shot multiple times. Schlueter says the tourniquet was a big help, “I responded and saw and individual who had been bleeding out and we were able to apply a tourniquet and ultimately ended up saving his life," he said. Schlueter says St. Louis County doesn't issue individual officers tourniquets.
“Out of our pocket we have to pay for these tourniquets, if we use one, the department will reimburse us but I think it's actually beneficial to carry one at all times.," he said.
The tourniquets each cost Mark about $35 to $40. He says it’s worth the expense. “It's the thing to do, we really need to support our officers and this is just one way of giving back to them. they keep us safe I would like to keep them safe too,” he said.
Mark met Officer Schuleter about two weeks ago when he stopped by the metro link station on Delmar to give tourniquets.
The two realized they had a lot in common including working for the coast guard. Mark’s wife also retired from the U.S. Navy. They all believe in serving our community.
Mark and his wife are buying all the tourniquets themselves. If you would like to make a donation to help them buy the lifesaving device, send an email to SavingCopsandK9s@gmail.com.
Mark met Officer Schuleter about two weeks ago when he stopped by the metro link station on Delmar to give tourniquets. The two realized they had a lot in common including working for the coast guard. Mark’s wife also retired from the U.S. Navy. They all believe in serving our community.