SANDUSKY, Ohio — The Sandusky police officer whose quick decision to use a dog leash as a tourniquet may have saved the life of a young accidental shooting victim was featured as the “Hero of the Week” on A&E’s new live documentary series “Live Rescue.”
Officer Darian Cook responded to a shooting call on Maple Avenue on June 27. When Cook arrived, he found a boy with a gunshot wound to the thigh.
The boy’s mother kept pressure on the wound while the officer fashioned a tourniquet out of a dog leash and used it to stanch the bleeding.
RELATED: Sandusky police officer uses dog leash as tourniquet to save boy's life after accidental shooting
Warning: Video below contains graphic content.
Cook was named “Hero of the Week” on A&E’s new show “Live Rescue,” a spinoff of their popular “Live PD” series.
Watch the segment on the Live Rescue Facebook page below:
Cook told the host that the young man who was shot is doing well and expected to make a full recovery. He acknowledged that the bullet did serious damage to the young man, and were it not for the actions of the boy’s mother and his quick-thinking, the call may have had a much worse outcome.
He also explained why he decided to grab the leash and use it as a tourniquet.
“I knew the need to reduce the amount of blood loss was dire,” Cook said. “And when I got back to my cruiser, the first thing I saw was the dog leash. And rather than waste precious seconds trying to obtain a tourniquet from the first aid kit. I determined that the dog leash would be equally as effective in reducing the blood loss.”
The host asked Cook if he feels like a hero.
“Police officers are often called heroes, but at the end of the day, we come in to work and we just do our best every day. We make the best decision we can given the moment, and we pray for a good outcome,” Cook said.
