Longview honors officers and medics whose tourniquet response saved colleague

The City of Longview presented awards at its May 8 council meeting to police officers and firefighters who rendered life-saving aid after an officer was shot during a March 8 incident.

"Their swift and decisive actions were instrumental in preventing further blood loss and saved officer Leininger's life," the mayor said while presenting the awards, noting medical staff at the treating hospital confirmed the intervention’s effectiveness.

The council recognized Officer Luke Kintz and Officer James Jones with the Longview Police Department Lifesaving Award; Officer Chris Clark received the Meritorious Conduct Award; and Officer Robert Leininger was presented with the Purple Heart Award. The mayor also recognized Longview Fire Department medics Justin Royer and Camden Lambert for their treatment and transport of the injured officer.

Council remarks described a sequence in which officers applied a tourniquet and stabilized the wounded officer until emergency medical personnel arrived. The mayor read details of the response, saying Jones "recognized the need to apply a second tourniquet and gave officer Kintz his tourniquet and directed him to apply it to stop the bleeding, effectively stabilizing our officer until the emergency medical personnel arrived." The mayor also praised Officer Chris Clark for coordinating the scene and mitigating panic.

The council presented departmental awards and citations, and representatives of the police and fire departments joined councilmembers and family members onstage for photographs. No policy or disciplinary actions were discussed during the recognition; the agenda item was ceremonial and focused on honoring first responders.