Markeshia Ricks Photos
Officers Perrotti and Dash at 1 Union Ave.
Dash’s spare tourniquet that he uses to practice.
Officer Joseph Perrotti and another officer were at the District 4 substation on Edgewood Avenue wrapping up their work on a domestic violence incident when Perrotti heard gunshots.
He called it in and made his way to Edgewood and Kensington.
Not too far away on Sherman Avenue, Officer Gregory Dash was working on a report while his partner was driving. Perrotti’s call came in over the radio. They immediately headed over to the scene of the shooting, where there were lots of people milling around, usually a dead giveaway that something bad has happened.
Sure enough, a man was lying on the sidewalk bleeding.
“I could immediately see the bright red arterial bleeding,” Perrotti recalled of the scene. It was about 8 p.m. on April 13; he and Dash got to work and quickly. They knew the bright red blood was a sign that the 22-year-old man didn’t have much time if he were going to survive his wound. Their training kicked in.
Perrotti, who trains other officers on using tourniquets.
Dash: Tourniquet gives everyone a chance to live.
Dash pulled out a tourniquet while Perrotti exposed the injury to confirm where on the man’s leg the blood was coming from.
Both men have taken part in recent New Haven Police Department training that outfitted officers with tourniquets for just these kinds of scenarios. It was the second time that Dash had used the training in the field and the first time for Perrotti, who actually helps teach it to other officers. (Read more about the training here.)
Dash, a former U.S. Army medic, said it’s a skill that, once learned, is easy to practice regularly. He has a spare tourniquet and practices so that when he needs it, his training and muscle memory take over.
That’s what happened that night in Dwight.
“I saw the blood forcefully coming out of the wound,” Perotti said. Working together, Dash got the tourniquet around the man’s leg, while Perotti cinched it until the wound stopped bleeding.
“He was in and out,” Dash said of the man’s consciousness. “When we first got there he was alert. I was talking to him but after we put the tourniquet, he was out. I was trying to keep him awake.”
Perrotti estimated that from the time it took for him to call in the gunshots to the time where he and Dash got the tourniquet on the man wasn’t much more than two minutes. That’s good — because the man likely only had one more minute before he would have bled to death from his wound.
The quick actions of the officers bought the man time — time for an ambulance to get to the scene and race him to Yale-New Haven Hospital.
Dash rode to the hospital with the man. Perrotti stayed behind to secure the scene with a supervisor before heading to the hospital to talk to another man who had also been shot.
The man made it through surgery. Both officers said they were glad to have the training and tools to give the man another chance at living.
The shooting victim survived.
“I’m extremely proud of these two officers. They represent the best of us,” said Acting Police Chief Otoniel Reyes.
“This is what policing is all about. That’s why we sign up to do this work.”
Perrotti noted that the tourniquet, applied properly, stops the most immediate problem — the loss of blood — long enough to get someone to the hospital. He should know: When he’s not working as a police officer, he’s a registered nurse in emergency services.
“It’s good for us and the community,” Perrotti said. “It’s a win-win.”
Perrotti and Dash were among the officers who advocated for having officers keep the tourniquets on their person and at the ready. They would like to see the training continue in the department. It matches well with why they both got into the policing.
Dash, 27, who hails from East Hampton and has been with the department for three years and four months, became a police officer because he didn’t want a traditional 9 to 5 that would have trapped him at a desk punching a time card.
“Every day is a new day,” he said of being a police officer. “It’s the kind of job, especially in New Haven, where you can do so much. The opportunities here are more prevalent. It’s definitely very rewarding.”
Perotti, 31, who has been on the job five years, said he’s often asked which he likes better: being a nurse or being a cop.
“There are not many jobs as rewarding as this,” Perrotti said of being a police officer. “But it’s apples and oranges. You’re helping people but you’re doing it in two totally different ways.”
Read other installments in the Independent’s “Cop of the Week” series:
• Gregory Dash
• Shafiq Abdussabur
• Yessennia Agosto
• Craig Alston & Billy White Jr.
• Joseph Aurora
• James Baker
• Lloyd Barrett
• Pat Bengston & Mike Valente
• Elsa Berrios
• Manmeet Bhagtana (Colon)
• Paul Bicki
• Paul Bicki (2)
• Sheree Biros
• Bitang
• Scott Branfuhr
• Bridget Brosnahan
• Craig Burnett & Orlando Crespo
• Keron Bryce and Steve McMorris
• Keron Bryce and Osvaldo Garcia
• Keron Bryce and Osvaldo Garcia (2)
• Dennis Burgh
• Anthony Campbell
• Darryl Cargill & Matt Wynne
• Elizabeth Chomka & Becky Fowler
• Rob Clark & Joe Roberts
• Sydney Collier
• Carlos Conceicao
• Carlos Conceicao (2)
• Carlos Conceicao and Josh Kyle
• David Coppola
• Mike Criscuolo
• Natalie Crosby
• Steve Cunningham and Timothy Janus
• Chad Curry
• Roy Davis
• Joe Dease
• Milton DeJesus
• Milton DeJesus (2)
• Rose Dell
• Brian Donnelly
• Renee Dominguez, Leonardo Soto, & Mary Helland
• Anthony Duff
• Robert DuPont
• Robert DuPont and Rose Dell
• Eric Eisenhard & Jasmine Sanders
• Jeremie Elliott and Scott Shumway
• Jeremie Elliott (2)
• Jose Escobar Sr.
• Bertram Ettienne
• Bertram Ettienne (2)
• Martin Feliciano & Lou DeCrescenzo
• Paul Finch
• Jeffrey Fletcher
• Renee Forte
• Marco Francia
• Michael Fumiatti
• Michael Fumiatti (2)
• William Gargone
• William Gargone (2)
• William Gargone & Mike Torre
• Derek Gartner
• Derek Gartner & Ryan Macuirzynski
• Tom Glynn & Matt Williams
• Jon Haddad & Daniela Rodriguez
• Michael Haines
• Michael Haines & Brendan Borer
• Michael Haines & Brendan Borer (2)
• Dan Hartnett
• Ray Hassett
• Robert Hayden
• Patricia Helliger
• Robin Higgins
• Ronnell Higgins
• William Hurley & Eddie Morrone
• Derek Huelsman
• Racheal Inconiglios
• Juan Ingles
• Bleck Joseph and Marco Correa
• Shayna Kendall
• Paul Kenney
• Hilda Kilpatrick
• Herb Johnson
• John Kaczor & Alex Morgillo
• Jillian Knox
• Peter Krause
• Peter Krause (2)
• Amanda Leyda
• Rob Levy
• Anthony Maio
• Dana Martin
• Reggie McGlotten
• Steve McMorris
• Juan Monzon
• Monique Moore and David Santiago
• Matt Myers
• Carlos and Tiffany Ortiz
• Tiffany Ortiz
• Doug Pearse and Brian Jackson
• Chris Perrone
• Joseph Perrotti
• Ron Perry
• Joe Pettola
• Diego Quintero and Elvin Rivera
• Ryan Przybylski
• Stephanie Redding
• Tony Reyes
• David Rivera
• Luis & David Rivera
• Luis Rivera (2)
• Salvador Rodriguez
• Salvador Rodriguez (2)
• Brett Runlett
• David Runlett
• Betsy Segui & Manmeet Colon
• Allen Smith
• Marcus Tavares
• Martin Tchakirides
• David Totino
• Stephan Torquati
• Gene Trotman Jr.
* Elisa Tuozzoli
• Kelly Turner
• Lars Vallin (& Xander)
• Dave Vega & Rafael Ramirez
• Earl Reed
• Daophet Sangxayarath & Jessee Buccaro
• Herb Sharp
• Matt Stevens and Jocelyn Lavandier
• Jessica Stone
• Jessica Stone & Mike DeFonzo
• Arpad Tolnay
• Mike Torre & Ray Saracco
• John Velleca
• Manuella Vensel
• Holly Wasilewski
• Holly Wasilewski (2)
• Alan Wenk
• Stephanija VanWilgen
• Elizabeth White & Allyn Wright
• Matt Williams
• Michael Wuchek
• Michael Wuchek (2)
• David Zannelli
• Cailtin Zerella
• Caitlin Zerella (2)
• Caitlin Zerella, Derek Huelsman, David Diaz, Derek Werner, Nicholas Katz, and Paul Mandel
• David Zaweski