Officers In Action

Recently, Officer M. J. Moreno was flagged down on a burglary of a residence in progress as he patrolled his beat. A citizen and his brother had subdued a burglar in their house and in the process the burglar was stabbed in the chest with a kitchen knife. Once Officer Moreno assessed the situation he called for back up and an ambulance. Sergeant J. M. DeMartin, Sergeant M. T. Ferguson, Officer N. A. Flores, Officer J. O. Garza-Cantu, Officer G. S. Moran and Officer D. A. Murillo arrived at the scene to assist Officer Moreno.

Sergeant DeMartin immediately organized scene security sending the officers to clear the residence while Sergeant Ferguson went to the aid of the suspect who had collapsed on the front lawn. Sergeant Ferguson saw that the suspect had a deep puncture wound to his chest which was pulsating blood into the air. He grabbed a t-shirt and applied steady pressure to the wound. Officer Murillo finished clearing the residence and went to assist Sergeant Ferguson. Officer Murillo shouted to the other officers on the scene to locate either a plastic bag or some sort of ID card to seal the wound. Officer Flores rushed to her patrol car and retrieved some zip lock bags and handed them to Officer Murillo. Officer Murillo sealed the suspect’s puncture with the bags as Sergeant Ferguson resumed applying pressure to the suspect’s chest. The officers spoke calmly to the suspect to prevent him from going into shock.

Houston Fire Department medics arrived at the scene and took the suspect to a nearby hospital where he immediately underwent surgery for a punctured aorta and lung.

The hospital surgeon credited the officers on the scene with saving the suspect’s life.

HPD would like to commend these officers for a job well done. Without the quick actions and life saving techniques this suspect would have died at the scene.