APD officer saves lives using medical supplies he paid for himself
AUSTIN, Texas - An Austin Police Officer was honored by the Austin Fire Department for saving the life of an overdose victim this month using medical supplies he paid for out of pocket.
One year ago SPO Chris Frierson of the Austin Police Department responded to a drive-by shooting where a woman had been shot multiple times.
"I arrived pretty quickly. When I got there I didn't really have the necessary implementations to assist her. So, I had to wait basically until the paramedics and firefighters arrived." he explained.
Frierson says the woman survived. It only took "a few minutes" for other first responders to arrive but "seemed like forever." "I didn't want to have that helpless feeling again, so I decided to go out and buy my own kit so that I could have the actual implementation, such as chest seals, bandages, things of that nature," he said.
The medical kit cost him $1,250 out of pocket. The Marine Corps veteran says he has used chest seals twice and has used Narcan, obtained through Austin-Travis County EMS three times since August.
"The most recent deployment was last week, there was a gentleman who had attempted to commit suicide by overdosing on Percocet," he explained.
According to the Austin Police Association, the man was found on the floor lifeless and blue from the neck up. Responding to the call, Frierson used a bag and valve mask he bought with his own money to ventilate the man.
Convinced his actions saved a life, the Austin Fire Department honored him with an impromptu awards ceremony.
"Sometimes you just go out and buy things on your own, and we do that because that’s what we signed up for is to help people. So I completely commend him for doing that." said Battalion Chief Andy Reardon.
FOX 7 Austin asked Frierson if he would like to see the department provide each officer with the lifesaving supplies he paid out of pocket for. He replied, "Of course, that would be a great idea, but fiscally it would be pretty expensive to equip every officer that we have with a kit such as that."
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