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Lincolnshire Explorers lauded at national conference

Submitted by the Lincolnshire Police Department

Three Explorers from the Lincolnshire Police Department Explorer Post won two national awards while attending the 2016 National Law Enforcement Explorer Conference held at Northern Arizona University during the week of July 10-16.

The Explorers, accompanied by their adviser, Sgt. Jamie Watson, traveled to Flagstaff, Arizona, for the weeklong conference. Explorers Ben Panitch, 18; Michael Hansen, 20; and John Schneider, 14, made up a single team and pitted their law enforcement skills against 4,000 other Police Explorers from around the country.

Explorers attending the conference were able to compete in any five of 12 competitions. Teams were informed of which event they would be competing in the moment they arrived at each of their prescribed time slots.

The competitions were judged by representatives of primarily federal law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Marshal Service, FBI, DEA and ATF, as well as several local Arizona Police Departments and the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

Police Explorer Posts from around the nation - many of them from large cities and agencies, such Tampa, Florida; New York City; Minneapolis; California Highway Patrol; and hundreds more - gathered for the conference.

That's some pretty robust competition considering the small community of Lincolnshire only had a single three-Explorer team to compete against agencies that had dozens of Explorers. Of the five competitions in which Lincolnshire competed, they won two second-place awards: Traffic Stops and Officer Down - Emergency First Aid. For a small department, Lincolnshire Explorers have continued to make a big name for themselves.

In the Officer Down - Emergency First Aid competition, the Explorers responded to a police officer who was struck by a car, where the offender fled the scene leaving the officer laying in the road. Explorers were responsible for knowing an entire checklist of responsibilities, including relocating the officer to safety, assessing his wounds, checking for signs of shock, broken bones, controlling arterial bleeding by use of a tourniquet, and knowledge of CPR.

They also had to gain information on the offending vehicle, direct traffic, and obtain witness information.

During the closing ceremony, the conference committee recommended the Meritorious Service Award to the Lincolnshire Police Explorer Post for the extraordinary performance while on their way to the conference.

On July 10, while in transit to the conference from the Phoenix airport, the Lincolnshire Police Department Explorer Post rendered aid at a single vehicle crash on a mountain region of I-17. The crash happened moments before, when a motorcyclist lost control while braking from a speed of 65 mph rounding a curve, throwing him from his motorcycle.

The motorcyclist had suffered severe head trauma and was lying in the roadway. Explorers and their adviser stopped to render assistance along with multiple other motorists. Explorers retrieved a first aid kit and assessed the victim's injuries.

At the same time, a nurse also approached the victim. The driver was unresponsive but breathing. Two Explorers worked with the nurse by stabilizing the patient's head, controlling the bleeding and assessing other injuries. The third Explorer threw on a traffic vest and assisted other motorists in slowing down and controlling traffic around the scene.

Because the location of the crash was on a mountain road in the desert, it was quite some time before medical personnel and the Arizona Department of Public Safety arrived on scene. The patient was later transported by helicopter to the hospital.

Lincolnshire Police Explorers train year-round in a multitude of law enforcement events in order to prepare them for future careers in the field. The Lincolnshire Police Department Explorer Post is always looking to recruit exceptional people between the ages of 14 and 21 into the program.

For details, contact Sgt. Jamie Watson at (847) 883-9900.

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John Schneider directs traffic at the site of an accident the Lincolnshire Explorer Post team encountered en route to the National Law Enforcement Explorer Conference. Other members of the team assisted in performing first aid on an injured motorcyclist. Courtesy of the Lincolnshire Police Department
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