HAMBURG, N.Y. — When medical emergencies arise, police are often the first on the scene.
Now officers in the Town of Hamburg are better equipped than ever to help save lives because of a program called TEMPO, or the Tactical Emergency Medical Patrol Officer program.
The police department, emergency services, and Town of Hamburg received the $75,000 needed for it back in the early fall. All 62 officers have been trained on it, to respond to medical emergencies.
Town of Hamburg Police Chief Pete Dienes says it's especially important because Hamburg's EMT services come from nine volunteer fire departments. Their backup is AMR, but it can take volunteers a little longer to arrive since they all have other full-time jobs.
"All police officers do have the basic training. However, police officers are usually the first ones on scene, especially on the overnight shift, so with this added tools and equipment and knowledge, they'll be able to start assisting individuals that have a medical condition more quickly," Dienes said.
Through TEMPO, the tools can help officers respond to include a few things.
"(They can help with) severe bleeding, can address opioid overdoses and allergic reactions," Town of Hamburg supervisor Randy Hoak said.
According to emergency services manager Sean Crotty, Hamburg is the first police department to use TEMPO in Western New York.
He says the Niagara County Sheriff's Office was the first sheriffs department to get EpiPens, and the Erie County Sheriff's Office has a specialized unit that uses them as well.
TEMPO also gives school resource officers tools to help respond to medical emergencies in a mass casualty situation.
School resource officers in the Frontier School District have two casualty equipment bags to help them. The Hamburg School District has one.
"The primary goal of an officer in an active shooter situation is to eliminate the threat and then once that's eliminated, they can go back and assist folks with whatever medical care they can give them," Dienes said.
Officers will continue to get trainings yearly on TEMPO.