TSA Officer Bled For Thirty Three Minutes In LAX Shooting
BY Herschel Smith
11 years ago
ABC:
An airport security officer lay helplessly bleeding after a gunman opened fire at Los Angeles International Airport as paramedics waited 150 yards away because police had not declared the terminal safe to enter, according to two law enforcement officials.
It would be 33 minutes before Transportation Security Administration Officer Gerardo Hernandez, who was about 20 feet from an exit, would be wheeled out by police to an ambulance, said the officials, who were briefed on the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity because the probe was still ongoing into the Nov. 1 shooting.
For all but five of those minutes, there was no threat from the suspected gunman — he had been shot and was in custody, they said.
While it’s not known when Hernandez died or if immediate medical attention could have saved his life, officials are examining what conversations took place between police and fire commanders to determine when it was safe enough to enter and whether paramedics could have gone into the terminal earlier, one of the officials said.
The head of the TSA union on Friday said he was appalled at the news, calling the delay “absolutely unacceptable,” according to KNBC-TV.
This is a shame, and I agree that it’s absolutely unacceptable, just as absolutely unacceptable as Jose Guerena laying helplessly bleeding out in his own home for one hour and fourteen minutes without medical assistance, even though first responders were on the scene and waiting for permission to treat him.
I will await the head of the TSA labor union mentioning Mr. Guerena’s treatment as unacceptable.
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On November 16, 2013 at 9:58 am, Mannie said:
This was an act of Official Cowardice. It is a repeat of Columbine, where no cops were put in danger.
On November 16, 2013 at 10:27 am, Paul B said:
When did we as a nation lose our spines. There is not a real man among those police or fire fighters
On November 16, 2013 at 11:27 am, Al Reasin said:
The military medics don’t wait for the firefight to end before aiding the wounded. If the civilian EMT’s want to risk the effort, that should be their decision.
On November 16, 2013 at 1:57 pm, Mannie said:
Paul, while I don’t have a lot of respect for individual cops, I don’t think it was cowardice at that level. It was the brass, who were afraid to have a cop hurt on their watch. It was the same thing at Columbine. They calmly set up perimeters and controlled ingress and egress, until “The situation resolved itself.” Sometimes, you just have to ride toward the sound of the guns.
On November 16, 2013 at 8:42 pm, Josh said:
This very simply boils down to the emasculation of American society in general. Standing protocol to let situations “resolve themselves” exists because of law suits. Police do not have an obligation to respond. Therefore, if they send officers in to a situation where they could be harmed, and they do wind up maimed or killed, the families of the slain officers will sue the holy hell out of the department.
That’s my take on it, anyway. I’m sure it’s more complicated than that. In any case, it’s cowardice at one level or the other. I am inclined to believe if the brass gave the officers a choice, they would have chosen to go in. Of course, what happens once they’re inside, given their lack of training?
On November 17, 2013 at 4:13 am, HempRopeAndStreetlight said:
I just can’t summon any sympathy for one of the paid child molesters with the TSA bleeding out while the chicken-shits-with-badges sat around wringing the piss from their mall-ninja-attire.
The only thing I will offer is that I hope the traitor’s death was painful beyond words, and that he is now cooking in the deepest, darkest pit of hell were oath breakers and child rapists simmer.
Good riddance to bad rubbish. Only a few thousand more to go.
On November 18, 2013 at 8:19 pm, Ned said:
TSA agents are, IMO, wannabe “only ones.”
Gerardo Hernandez job was to check out people and see if they were acting nervous or suspicious. Once identified as such, they were probably singled out for “special attention.”
I find it really difficult to feel sorry for a TSA thug. I obviously have empathy problems in that area.
Hopefully, I’ll work through them.
I feel bad for has family. I liked the Jose Guerena reference. Pretty much nailed it there, Herschel.
On November 18, 2013 at 8:35 pm, Herschel Smith said:
Thanks Ned. I had thought that I wasn’t clear in my compare and contrast and the real point of the post – Jose Guerena – had gotten buried in comments about the TSA.
On November 20, 2013 at 10:52 am, John Davis said:
Back in the day (60’s) we simply armed, armored, and trained the medics to police level which to a few hours of extra training. As opposed to trainng police to paramedic or emt level, which in most cases, can’t be done! An EMT team with cover is a very easy thing to do. So would be having TSA have 2 EMT trained TSA folks on duty each shift!