Officer who treated teen stabbing victim honored
A Chicago police officer was recognized Wednesday for his quick thinking that saved the life of a 15-year-old boy who was stabbed several times last month outside a North Side Red Line station.
Officer Israel Martinez, of the Chicago Police Department’s Near North District, was on patrol just before 1 a.m. Feb. 24 when he responded to a call of a person stabbed in the 1600 block of North Bissell Street, police said during a news conference Wednesday celebrating Martinez’s actions.
“Upon arrival to the scene, we saw the individual had been stabbed multiple times across the body, predominantly in the chest,” Martinez said.
The teenage boy had been walking with a friend when two males got out of a silver Dodge Charger and chased them, police said. The boy was stabbed in the chest, arm and leg and then ran to the North/Clybourn CTA Red Line station, where Martinez found him.
Martinez, a tactical officer who also has military experience, immediately used his first-aid training to care for the boy until paramedics arrived to take over treatment, he said.
“I applied a chest seal and conducted a sweep of the body to make sure nowhere else was bleeding,” Martinez said. “I maintained open contact with him until EMS arrived on scene to render aid.”
Paramedics then arrived and took the boy in critical condition to Lurie Children’s Hospital, police said.
“Last month, Officer Martinez went above and beyond when he successfully applied his Chicago Police Department training to help a juvenile,” said Near North District Cmdr. Jill Stevens. “He’s a hard-working, dedicated officer who engages positively with the community.”
Three people were questioned by police in connection to the incident but later released without charges, police said. No one has been charged in connection to the stabbing.