CAMP MURRAY, Wash. — When Deputy Sergio Sanchez arrived at the scene of a drive-by shooting during a night patrol shift with the Pierce County Sheriff's Department in Spanaway, Washington, he found a man bleeding from his leg.
Sanchez, 28, a six-year veteran in law enforcement, exited his squad car with his personal first aid kit and instantly went to work.
The victim had a bullet wound that went straight through his leg and was bleeding profusely. Within minutes, Sanchez stabilized the man's injuries with gauze and a tourniquet for transport to the local hospital.
Sanchez didn't learn his life-saving skills on the police force. He also serves as a combat medic with the Washington Army National Guard's Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 2nd Battalion, 146th Field Artillery Regiment.
"I knew exactly what injury he had and immediately I knew what to do," he said, referring to the gunshot victim. "It was essentially what I learned in [combat medic] school [at Fort Sam Houston] in San Antonio."
Having a career and formal military training as a combat medic provides Sanchez an extra skill set that often sets him apart from his peers in the police department.
"We don't usually see that kind of qualification and experience with a brand-new deputy," said sheriff's department Sgt. Glen Carpenter, Sanchez's shift supervisor, adding that most deputies do not have formal training as a medic or a first responder.
Having Sanchez's talent and ability to provide life-saving first aid makes him a valuable resource to have in his precinct.
"[We] have a pretty diverse department and many of the different sections have people who are cross-trained in [emergency medicine] but not at the patrol level," said Carpenter "He was probably selected for the extra talent that he has."
The drive-by shooting was not the only time Sanchez has used his Army medic skills in his capacity as sheriff's deputy. Several weeks after that incident he was called to the scene of a hit-and-run where he found a man lying in the middle of the road.
"When we got closer we saw a large amount of blood coming from his head," Sanchez said. "He was not responsive and barely breathing."
Sanchez said his training kicked in and he stabilized the victim's neck and spinal cord. He applied gauze and pressure to the head injury and soon the injured man began to show signs of life.
"He eventually started moaning, so that was a good sign," Sanchez said. "I just kept him stabilized until [the] fire [department] got there."
Sanchez was hit with the medic bug when he was a young boy, he said. His father, an Army veteran, asked him to clean out a closet in his childhood home. As he was cleaning out the closet he came across an old first-aid bag from his father's time in the Army.
"[I] was immediately drawn to what was inside and spent hours studying the many different pieces of medical equipment," said Sanchez, adding it was a natural fit to enlist as a medic in the Washington Army Guard.
However, even with his training, Sanchez said he doesn't think he, alone, saved these two people's lives. Instead, he was a contributing factor. As a combat medic he is trained to treat, stabilize and move patients on to higher care.
"That's exactly what I do," he said. "I just treat and stabilize until fire personnel get there. They start doing [higher level] medical intervention."
Being a combat medic allows Sanchez to be a much more valuable commodity to the profession he loves so much.
"Being a deputy … I love it," he said. "Not every day is the same. Being a medic adds a way for me to be helpful and effective to the citizens and my partners."