An Oklahoma County deputy is being hailed as a hero after his prompt response to a violent incident on a school bus last Friday. After a 17-year-old student, in an act of fury over bullying, punched a window on the bus, severing an artery in his arm, Deputy Jonathan Jones used a tourniquet to stop the life-threatening bleeding. This quick action, attributed to his 11 years of experience as a school resource officer, likely saved the teen’s life, according to officials.
Oklahoma's News 4 reports that during a chaotic incident, blood began spraying from the teen's arm, according to Oklahoma County Sheriff Tommie Johnson III. This created an emergency that Deputy Jones, responsible for the safety of over 500 students, had not encountered before.
"A 17-year-old went to Rogers Middle School to confront a student he believed had been harassing his sister," Jones said, as detailed in a statement obtained by KOCO. Videos from Jones’ body camera showed him rushing to apply the tourniquet, a critical move as the teen was losing a life-threatening amount of blood. "I knew exactly what to do. I knew I had to get a tourniquet to stop the bleeding, stop the dying," Jones added.
Serving over a decade, it was Deputy Jones' first encounter with an injury of such severity, as per OKC Fox. But his training evidently prepared him well for this crucial moment.
As of now, the name of the teen involved has not been released due to his status as a minor. The sheriff’s office has not provided further details on any potential consequences for the actions that led to the injury. The teen underwent emergency surgery and is reported to be recovering.
