Spokane Police Officer Mikayla Holmes practices CPR on Baby Anne during demonstrations at spring in-service training, Friday, April 2, 2021, at the Spokane Police Academy. (DAN PELLE/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)
Spokane Police Officer Jason Tanascu is used to demonstrate tourniquet techniques to his upper leg during spring in-service training Friday at the Spokane Police Academy. (DAN PELLE/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)
Spokane Police Officer Jared Meyer, right, receives a H-bandage wrap from Jason Tanascu during their spring in-service training, Friday, April 2, 2021, at the Spokane Police Academy. (DAN PELLE/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)
Spokane Police Officer Scott Lesser demonstrates the proper way to hold and give a baby CPR during in-service training, Friday, April 2, 2021, at the Spokane Police Academy. (DAN PELLE/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)
Spokane Police officers, from left, Sgt. Bryan Tafoya, Corey Miller and Derek Jones, learn to use H-bandages during their spring in-service training, Friday, April 2, 2021, at the Spokane Police Academy. (DAN PELLE/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)
Spokane Police Officer Paul Buchmann demonstrates how to properly use NARCAN spray for opioid overdoses during spring in-service training, Friday, April 2, 2021, at the Spokane Police Academy. (DAN PELLE/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)
Spokane Police officers receive classroom training during their spring in-service training, Friday, April 2, 2021, at the Spokane Police Academy. (DAN PELLE/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)
The spring in-service training for SPD is underway. Officers are getting CPR and medic training. The basic care and treatment an officer provides prior to medics arriving often makes the difference between life and death and greatly impacts the outcome of a medial trauma.
When Sgt. Jay Kernkamp became a medic more than a decade ago, the first-aid training Spokane Police Department officers received was minimal, which at the time was in line with how often officers needed to provide aid.