Life Saving Incident

On May 29, 2019, Victorville patrol deputies responded to a call for a man who had been shot and was lying in a field in the downtown area. Deputy Cory McCarthy, was in the area for an unrelated investigation and heard the call over the radio. He found the man shot in the chest and laying on the ground. Deputy McCarthy used his tactical medicine training and experience to evaluate the man’s condition: he had shallow breathing and a faint pulse. Deputy McCarthy determined the victim possibly had a collapsed lung and needed a chest seal applied to his wound so he would be able to breathe more effectively. Deputy McCarthy applied a chest seal and the man immediately began breathing easier. Deputy McCarthy monitored his condition for approximately 10 minutes until EMT's and Victorville firefighters arrived. The man was airlifted to the hospital and survived. One of the firefighters who responded to the call said the man could have died if Deputy McCarthy had not rendered medical aid so swiftly. Deputy McCarthy is assigned to SED and responding to calls-for-service is not one of his current job responsibilities. However, Deputy McCarthy paused his unrelated investigation and responded to the scene of the shooting. He utilized his training and experience to save the man’s life.