Just one week after Hawaii Police Department received tourniquets as part of a grant from the Spirit of the Blue Foundation, Sgt. Ryan Pagan saved the life of a man who was stabbed in Puna last fall.
Pagan not only administered the tourniquet, he was part of the two-person team who trained other officers how to use them correctly. For his quick-thinking actions, Pagan was recently honored by the East Hawaii Aloha Exchange Club as Officer of the Month for September 2020.
On Sept. 4, 2020, officers from the Pahoa station were dispatched to a report of a person stabbed four to five times in the area of Kekuewa Street. Assigned to the Puna District at the time, Pagan was first on the scene and noticed that the victim, a 29-year-old man, was bleeding heavily from his right forearm just above his wrist and was feeling light-heated and dizzy from blood loss.
Acting swiftly, Pagan applied lifesaving measures and was able to stop the bleeding by using the tourniquet.
The victim was transported to Hilo Medical Center by Hawaii Fire Department personnel and subsequently recovered.
The use of the tourniquet came a week after the lifesaving equipment was distributed to police officers. The department received 442 tourniquets and holsters from the Spirit of the Blue Foundation in July 2020. Pagan was one of two department instructors tasked with conducting islandwide training on the new equipment.
The training and deployment of tourniquets to patrol officers had just been completed days earlier when Pagan responded to the stabbing incident. He has since transferred to the Administrative Division, Police Recruit Training section.
Every month, the East Hawaii Aloha Exchange Club honors a police officer in East Hawaii as its officer of the month. Officers are nominated by their supervisors from the various police districts and a monthly winner is selected.
Winners are normally honored during the club’s monthly meeting; however, because of the COVID-19 restrictions, no meetings have been conducted since March.
Members of the club recently met with Pagan and HPD Administration Services staff to present him with the award.
All officers selected as Officer of the Month are eligible to be selected as the East Hawaii Aloha Exchange Club’s Officer of the Year.
