Gilmanton officer credited with saving child's life

GILMANTON — Anything can happen when a police officer responds to a call; they are trained to expect the unexpected. Last month, Officer Ainsley Bruno used her training and quick thinking to save a child from bleeding to death.

“I got calls from the firefighting staff filling me in, and one of them said that the [victim] was absolutely saved because of Officer Bruno being there and reacting the way she did,” said Chief Matt Currier.

Bruno responded to a call about a family disturbance involving a child on May 11. Moments before she arrived, an accident and a broken window left a large piece of glass in the child's right arm. Bruno said the piece of glass appeared to have nicked an artery.

Currier said upon arrival, the victim was bleeding heavily, and in and out of consciousness.

“The way she was holding the victim, the way she was leaning, she couldn’t reach the tourniquet with one hand,” Currier said. “So, she reached with the other to get a sock and a pen.”

Bruno improvised a tourniquet with a sock and a pen.

“I saw a midsized calf sock on the floor, grabbed that, and was able to secure it with my pen,” Bruno said. “That only held for a minute or two, but it allowed me to dislodge my tourniquet from my duty belt and apply it.”

This stopped the bleeding until the victim moved to sit down, which caused the 5-inch glass shard to fall out, and the victim began heavily bleeding.

“The amount of blood was unbelievable,” Currier said. “The officer was then able to reach for her tourniquet, put it on, and tighten it down.”

Currier said Belmont Police Officer Syntia Somogyi arrived with a medical bag, and helped Bruno wrap the wound until Gilmanton EMS arrived.

“It all happened right in front of me,” Bruno said. “I am really glad I was there, and glad that Officer Somogyi was able to help me out, and EMS.”

The child was transported to Concord Hospital, in Concord, and Currier said she is expected to make a full recovery. Currier was proud a member of his department was able to think quickly during a chaotic situation, and save a life.

“I think that training kicked in, and this is why we train with our fire department and go over these types of situations,” Currier said. “Often times, a cruiser is there before the ambulance. She reacted, and did the right thing.”

Bruno is the first police officer in her family, and became interested in law enforcement after participating in the police cadet training academy.

“That opened my eyes, and made me want to be a police officer,” Bruno said.

After attending college, Bruno became a police dispatcher, then a patrol officer in Franklin, where she spent a year and a half. She has been with the Gilmanton Police Department for three years.

Currier said Gilmanton officers have a great working relationship with the town’s fire department, and they all train together.

“We do CPR, first aid, and all carry AEDs in our cruisers,” Currier said. “We all wear tourniquets on our duty belts.”

While any call can be dangerous, Currier said domestic disturbances can be among those of the highest risk for a police officer, saying they can be unpredictable. He said those calls require patience and focus, and the knowledge of how to respond.

Currier said the goal of the department is to train to ensure officers react accordingly. They try to expect any situation, but hope to never encounter many.

“Officer Bruno did what she had to do to initially stop the bleeding, and simultaneously call for additional help,” Currier said. “She was professional, and calm, and really just amazing.”

Bruno could not have expected that was the way the call would go, but her training paid off.

“It feels good to have helped, but I don’t think I did anything different than what any officer would do,” she said.