A duty belt is already full. Decide where the tourniquet goes once, put it in the same place on every belt in the unit, and drill it until nobody has to look.
At a glance
10 things to know about the LAPD Tourniquet Pouch
What it carries, how it pairs with the LAPD Kit, and what to do with the tourniquet that rides in it.
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01
It is a carrier, not a tourniquet
The package is the pouch alone. TacMed sells it as the LAPD Kit's tourniquet pouch, with the kit and the tourniquet sold separately.3,4 A pouch stops nothing; the tourniquet you put in it does the work.
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02
The status belongs to the tourniquet
The evidence-based list names the SOF Tactical Tourniquet–Wide (SOFTT-W), NSN 6515-01-587-9943, and the C-A-T Gen 7, NSN 6515-01-521-7976, among its limb tourniquets.2 It names tourniquets, not pouches, so the recommendation attaches to the tourniquet you load, never to the pouch.
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03
Made to LAPD specification
TacMed designed the LAPD system to Los Angeles Police Department specifications for Los Angeles County law enforcement agencies, including the Sheriff's Department.5
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04
It rides the belt
The pouch mounts on the officer's duty belt, in a holster-style layout.3
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05
The LAPD Kit attaches to it
Worn on the leg like a holster, the LAPD Kit attaches directly to the belt or to a tourniquet pouch worn on the belt.3,5 With the kit, tourniquet and pouch worn together, the kit's detachable lower portion adds medical capability while the tourniquet stays on the belt.3
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06
Why a separate tourniquet pouch
Moving the tourniquet to its own belt pouch leaves room in the LAPD Kit for more supplies while an external tourniquet stays quickly accessible.4
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07
Two strap widths
The pouch comes with a 1.5 in. or 2 in. adjustable belt strap.3 Match it to the belt you wear: TQ-C-DL2-B is the 1.5 in. pouch and TQ-C-DL3-B the 2 in. pouch.
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08
What the LAPD Kit pairs it with
TacMed stocks the LAPD Kit with a SOF® Tourniquet, a 4 in. OLAES® Modular Bandage, a chest seal, trauma shears, surgical tape and gloves.5 The pouch is built to sit beside that kit.
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09
Which tourniquet goes in
Any tourniquet is a fit-and-retention question until you test it. Load the exact one you carry, then run, kneel, sit in a vehicle and draw it one-handed before you rely on it.
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10
The evidence on the SOF design is mixed
The original SOF Tactical Tourniquet stopped the distal pulse in every volunteer, arm and leg, in a 2005 study.9 Later work on the SOFTT-W is less favorable: arm failure was 58.3% against 5.6% for the C-A-T Gen 7 and 19.4% for the TMT,7 and on a manikin leg hemorrhage control was 35% against 67.7% for the C-A-T Gen 7.8 Slack removal and practice matter with any windlass.
How to wear, draw and apply it
Putting the pouch on the belt, the draw, and the placement decision before the tourniquet goes on.
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1Set it on the belt. Attach the pouch to the duty belt with its 1.5 in. or 2 in. adjustable strap, and place it where either hand can reach it seated or standing.3 Put it in the same place on every belt in the unit, so a teammate finds it on you without looking.
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2Load the tourniquet. Take the tourniquet out of its packaging, ready to slide on, and seat it in the pouch. If you wear the LAPD Kit, attach the kit to the pouch.3
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3Draw it. Pull the tourniquet from the pouch with one hand. Practice with either hand, gloved, seated in a vehicle and kneeling, before you rely on it.
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4Choose the placement. Under threat, or when you cannot see where the blood is coming from: hasty — high and tight, over clothing. When the source is found and time and safety allow: deliberate — on bare skin, 2–3 in. above the wound. If that point lands on a joint, move above the joint. Never place it across or directly over a joint.1
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5Tighten until the bleeding stops. Pull the strap tail tight to take the slack out, then tighten until the bleeding stops and the distal pulse is gone. It hurts, and that is expected.1
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6Lock, secure and record. Lock the tourniquet, secure the strap, and write the time on it and on the casualty card. If bleeding continues, add a second tourniquet side by side with the first.1
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7Reassess a hasty tourniquet. When the scene allows, expose the wound. If a tourniquet is needed, place a second one on bare skin 2–3 in. above the bleeding site, tighten it, then slowly release the first. If the source still cannot be found, the first stays high and tight.1
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8Leave it on — or convert by protocol. For civilians and most law enforcement, especially in self-aid, leaving it in place for the receiving clinicians is good practice. The TCCC Guidelines direct every effort to convert within 2 hours when the casualty is not in shock, the wound can be watched, and it is not an amputation.1
Where it fits
- Belt-level tourniquet carry on a duty belt3
- Pairing with the TacMed LAPD Kit so the tourniquet stays on the belt3,4
- Standardizing one tourniquet position across a team
- Life-threatening bleeding from an arm or a leg, and any traumatic amputation1
- Carrying dressings, hemostatic gauze or a chest seal — the pouch holds a tourniquet only
- The groin, armpit or neck — pack those wounds with hemostatic gauze and hold pressure
- Across or directly over a joint — move above it
- Bleeding that direct pressure or a pressure dressing controls
The evidence
There is no study of this pouch. The evidence below is for the SOF tourniquet design the LAPD Kit is stocked with, with its mixed results.
| Study | Evidence type | What was studied | What it found |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kragh et al., Ann Surg 2009 | Human · combat clinical | Tourniquets as a class: 232 casualties with 428 tourniquets, Baghdad combat support hospital, 2006 | Tourniquet use when shock was absent was associated with survival (90% vs 10%, P < 0.001); no amputation resulted solely from tourniquet use |
| Walters et al., Prehosp Emerg Care 2005 | Human volunteer | Seven tourniquets self-applied on the thigh (n = 18) and the upper arm (n = 12), distal Doppler pulse | The C-A-T, the EMT and the SOF Tactical Tourniquet each eliminated the distal pulse in every subject, arm and leg |
| Treager et al., J Trauma Acute Care Surg 2021 | Human volunteer · randomized crossover | C-A-T Gen 7 vs TMT vs SOFTT-W on arm and leg, Doppler pulse | Arm failure 5.56% C-A-T, 19.44% TMT, 58.33% SOFTT-W; leg 27.78%, 44.44%, 61.11%; the C-A-T was significantly better than the SOFTT-W on both limbs |
| Katsnelson et al., Mil Med 2020 | Manikin · randomized | C-A-T Gen 7, SAM XT and SOFTT-W on a HapMed leg trainer, 60 military medicine cadets | Hemorrhage control 67.7% C-A-T, 73.3% SAM XT, 35% SOFTT-W; mean pressure 104 mmHg for the SOFTT-W vs 175 and 186 for the others; slack tracked failure |
| Montgomery et al., J Spec Oper Med 2019 | Expert review · evidence-based update | Review of limb tourniquets for the evidence-based's April 2019 update | First update to the evidence-based standard limb tourniquets since 2005; the authors note the lack of unbiased data and official evaluation criteria |
Strongest to weakest: clinical series, then live-volunteer studies, then manikin work, then expert review. The combat data are for tourniquets as a class. The volunteer and manikin comparisons favored the C-A-T over the SOFTT-W; the 2005 volunteer study found the original SOF tourniquet fully effective.6,9
How it compares
How the tourniquet pouch differs from the other LAPD-system pieces.
| LAPD Tourniquet Pouch | LAPD Pouch (kit pouch only) | LAPD Kit | Tourniquet alone | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worn | On a duty belt | On the leg, attached to the belt or to the tourniquet pouch | On the leg, attached to the belt or to the tourniquet pouch | Wherever you stow it |
| Strap | 1.5 in. or 2 in., adjustable | 1.5 in. or 2 in., adjustable | 1.5 in. or 2 in., adjustable | — |
| Contents | None — carrier only | None — pouch only | SOF® Tourniquet, 4 in. OLAES® Modular Bandage, chest seal, trauma shears, surgical tape, gloves | Tourniquet |
| TacMed item | TQ-C-DL2-B · TQ-C-DL3-B | DLIP2-PO-B · DLIP3-PO-B | DLIP2-B · DLIP3-B | SOF® Tourniquet |
| evidence-based standard | Carrier — status belongs to the tourniquet | Carrier — no status | The tourniquet inside is a separate matter | SOFTT-W is on the list |
The evidence-based list covers tourniquets only, so no pouch or kit appears on it.2 Kit contents and item numbers from TacMed Solutions.3,5
Build the system
The kit it partners with, the tourniquets that ride in it, and the supplies that go beside them.
Questions buyers ask
Package & specifications
Available Options:
- 2"
- 1.5"
Specifications coming soon. Contact us for detailed product information.
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