Marathon Bombing Tourniquet May Have Saved Boston Officer's Life

In the immediate aftermath of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, improvised tourniquets were credited with saving 17 lives, ABC News reports. After that, officers with the Boston Police Department were issued 1,500 tourniquets. On Friday, one of those tourniquets may have saved a veteran officer's life, according to the Boston Herald. ABC reports the plainclothes officer was shot in the leg after pulling over a suspected drug dealer with an expired license. Police Commissioner Williams Evans credits the quick reaction of other officers at the scene for what happened next, according to the Herald. "The leg was bleeding pretty good, Evans says. "They were able to quickly put that tourniquet on the officer."

At the very least, the tourniquet saved the officer's leg, the Herald reports. Evans says it may very well have saved the officer's life. "We’re very fortunate that he’s not more seriously injured," he says. And Mayor Martin Walsh calls the tourniquet-applying officer a hero. The officer who was shot is still in the hospital, but he's expected to recover, according to ABC. The suspect in his shooting has been arrested. (More Boston stories.)