Quick-Thinking Sheriff’s Agent Rick Clements Saves Man’s Life
By Wayne Ivey, Brevard County Sheriff // July 27, 2014
applied tourniquet to accident victim's arm
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – I wanted to take a moment and commend the recent “Life Saving” actions of one of our members, Agent Richard “Rick” Clements.
On Tuesday, July 22, Agent Clements was traveling to work when he observed a vehicle crash at the intersection of Eau Gallie Boulevard and Turtlemound Road.
Agent Clements observed that the vehicles involved in the crash appeared to have serious damage and that injuries were almost certain. He then positioned his unmarked vehicle to block traffic while he assessed the scene.
Agent Clements made his way to one of the vehicles and saw an elderly male slumped over on the passenger’s side of the vehicle. Agent Clements climbed into the wreckage and consoled the male and inquired about possible injuries. As they spoke, the vehicle occupant stated that his left arm was hurting badly.
“Our agency was later contacted by the attending trauma physician who advised that the application of the tourniquet without question saved the man’s life and prevented him from bleeding to death,” said Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey. “Ironically, two weeks prior to the incident Agent Clements had received Tactical Trauma & Critical Care training at a bi-monthly SWAT training that was provided by the Air Force Para-Rescue Unit from PAFB.”
VICTIM’S ARM PARTIALLY AMPUTATED
Noticing that the victim’s arm was partially amputated and that there was a significant amount of blood loss, Agent Clements was able to use a roll of trauma gauze to pack and cover the wound and then applied a tourniquet to the upper left arm of the victim to slow down the blood loss.
Brevard County Fire Rescue and Melbourne Fire responded and took over patient care to prepare the victim for transport to a nearby trauma center.
Our agency was later contacted by the attending trauma physician who advised that the application of the tourniquet without question saved the man’s life and prevented him from bleeding to death. Ironically, two weeks prior to the incident Agent Clements had received Tactical Trauma & Critical Care training at a bi-monthly SWAT training that was provided by the Air Force Para-Rescue Unit from PAFB.
I could not be more proud of Rick for his actions that saved the victim’s life and prevented further tragedy. Throughout the incident Rick remained calm and relied upon his training to save the victim from further harm. Please join me in thanking Agent Clements for his actions and service to our community.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey has been a law enforcement officer for over three decades. Sheriff Ivey is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and has a Bachelor’s Degree from Daytona State College in Management and Supervision. Sheriff Ivey’s background in law enforcement is inclusive of Management, Criminal Investigations, Narcotics, Patrol Services, Public Integrity Investigations, and Corrections.
Prior to being elected in 2012, Sheriff Ivey served the citizens of the State of Florida as a Resident Agent in Charge for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. As a member of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Sheriff Ivey developed and created the country’s first ever statewide Task Force on Identity Theft.
That same year the Task Force was named one of the top five most innovative programs in the country by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and investigated approximately 44 million dollars in fraud cases. Additionally, as a member of FDLE, Sheriff Ivey created the Child Abduction Response Team (C.A.R.T) that re-defined the way Child Abduction cases are conducted throughout the country today.
Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey has been a law enforcement officer for over three decades. Sheriff Ivey is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and has a Bachelor’s Degree from Daytona State College in Management and Supervision. Sheriff Ivey’s background in law enforcement is inclusive of Management, Criminal Investigations, Narcotics, Patrol Services, Public Integrity Investigations, and Corrections.
The program was later selected as the most innovative program in the country by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and is now used as a nationwide model in the response and investigation of child abductions.
Sheriff Ivey has testified before the United States Congress on law enforcement related matters and has extensive experience in the area of Public Integrity Investigations. Sheriff Ivey was honored as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Special Agent of the Year (1996) and was also recognized by the Commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for his Outstanding Contributions to Criminal Justice. In August of 2011 Sheriff Ivey was honored by the National Organization of Victims Advocacy for his work at the national level as an advocate of victim’s rights and protection.
Sheriff Ivey speaks regularly on topics such as Identity Theft, Crime in America, Human Trafficking, Domestic Violence, and Self Defense through Mental Preparedness. Sheriff Ivey firmly believes that Crime Prevention and Education are vital to reduce our crime rate and protect our community.
