2 Oakland police officers credited with helping save the life of robbery victim
Two Oakland police officers credited with helping to save the life of a robbery victim who was shot
Two Oakland police officers gave KTVU a rare behind-the-scenes account of how they helped save the life of a robbery victim who was shot. They say responding to this type of call is a day in the life of working as a first responder in Oakland.
OAKLAND, Calif. -
Two Oakland police officers gave KTVU a rare look behind the scenes at how they helped save the life of a robbery victim who was shot earlier this week.
They said responding to this type of call is a day in the life of their work in Oakland and that their training prepared them for this.
Officers Prince Tenefrancia and Steve Wesley III each have nine years of experience under their belt.
The two veterans were in the same police academy class in 2016.
On Wednesday morning, the two joined forces to help a man who was shot during a robbery in the Montclair neighborhood.
The call came just before 9:15 a.m.
"We did see the gentleman down appearing to be suffering from a few gunshot wounds; a bunch of blood on the scene. He was bleeding profusely," said Wesley, who was among the first to arrive at the scene.
He saw two people with blankets trying to help the victim.
"I immediately wanted to try to control the bleeding in his abdomen. I had put pressure down on his abdomen in that area," said Wesley, "He was conscious. That was one of the main things. I wanted to make sure he maintained consciousness while we were there."
"First thing I noticed were the legs," said Tenefrancia.
He saw that the victim was bleeding from gunshot wounds to both legs.
"Seconds matter. Quickly applied tourniquet," said Tenefrancia. "I had to cut all his clothing and then do a triage. Do a finger sweep to make sure there are no other injuries."
Police said just nine hours later, they arrested a juvenile for the shooting and robbery .
Investigators also recovered multiple guns.
Near the scene of the crime, there is a pedestrian tunnel connecting the dead-end street to the Montclair Village area, where there are numerous shops, restaurants and banks.
Police say the victim was followed by the suspect but declined to say exactly where it started. Investigators also would not say what led to the break in the case.
Officers Wesley and Tenefrancia said they do not consider themselves heroes.
"Saving someone's life is going to reward you. But also, like I said, I'm just doing my job. It's part of my job," said Tenefrancia.
"I'm happy that I was able to help. That's kind of what we signed up for, to help people," said Wesley.
The officers said they have not spoken with the victim since giving him medical care, but hope to at some point.
They say working in Oakland, they've helped other gunshot victims who were not so lucky, but that they're just glad this one survived.
Amber Lee is a reporter with KTVU. Email Amber at Amber.Lee@Fox.com or text/leave message at 510-599-3922. Follow her on Facebook @AmberKTVU, Instagram @AmberKTVU or Twitter @AmberKTVU