Edgewater PD Receives Grant from Firehouse Subs

From Edgewater Police Chief John Hough: 

On September 9, 2014, the Edgewater Police Department received a $4,000 grant from the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation, Inc. The grant funds were officially awarded during a ceremony at the Firehouse Subs franchise at 650 South Wadsworth Boulevard in Lakewood attended by members of the Edgewater Police Department; Kingsley Brainard, who is the owner of the Firehouse Subs franchise; and Firehouse Subs corporate staff involved with the grant process.

The Firehouse Subs grant funds will be used to purchase tactical emergency medical supplies, a fully equipped police bicycle and a tactical ballistic shield. The equipment and supplies requested by the Department will address several safety issues from multiple perspectives, all equally critical for community members and the Department.

The tactical medical supplies will augment and/or replace the minimal traumatic medical supplies currently carried by officers. The Edgewater Police Department has the advantage of having an officer on staff who is also a trained and currently certified paramedic who will be able to train all the officers in the Department in the proper use of the requested medical supplies. Although the Wheat Ridge Fire Department and Pridemark Ambulance Service personnel provide highly trained and prompt responses to medical emergencies in Edgewater, the reality is that Edgewater Police Department officers are many times the first to arrive at the scenes of medical emergencies.

Rapid response is obviously critical for the successful resolution of medical emergencies, particularly traumatic medical emergencies. When one combines the tactical medical supplies that will be available with this grant funding with the enhanced
training provided to the officers in the effective use of the medical supplies, the clear result will be more likely survival in traumatic medical emergencies.

Not only will this combination of factors improve the safety of members of the community, but for the same reasons the safety of Edgewater Police Department officers will be significantly improved with immediate access to tactical medical supplies that can be self-applied or used by officers to save the life of another officer. Hence, the dual purpose accomplished by the purchase and deployment of these tactical emergency medical supplies.

There are many special events held throughout the year in Edgewater. The Department requested grant funding to purchase a fully equipped police bicycle. A police bicycle carrying a first response medical/trauma kit and an automatic electronic defibrillator (AED) will enable an officer deployed to one of those special events to reach anyone suffering a medical emergency in much less time than could an officer on foot or in a vehicle. As always, time delay in any medical emergency is perhaps one of the most critical elements in determining survival and successful recovery.

The final item for which grant funding was requested is a tactical ballistic shield specifically designed for rapid and easy maneuverability in confined or limited space. The shield being purchased is smaller and lighter weight than the heavier version of a ballistic shield that is normally deployed in SWAT incidents. The shield will be most appropriate in an active shooter situation that might be encountered by a School Resource Officer or a patrol officer during the immediate response to a situation that could ultimately escalate to a SWAT deployment. Use of the shield will provide an additional level of personal protection for responding officer(s) beyond that afforded officers by their individual bullet resistant personal vests.

In addition, in an active shooter situation the tactical ballistic shield will enable officers to provide emergency medical treatment and/or rescue victims with far more safety for all involved parties.

The Edgewater Police Department, and the entire community who will benefit from these grant-funded purchases, is extremely appreciative of the support for public safety first responders by the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation that is clearly demonstrated by the grant fund award.

Joel Newton

Joel has been a resident of Edgewater, Colorado with his family since 2012. He is the Executive Director of local education nonprofit Edgewater Collective and Editor of the Edgewater Echo.