Oklahoma County Deputy SRO Saves Teen’s Life After Suffering Large Cut to Arm

Editor's note: The video contains graphic footage.

The quick response by a school resource officer saved a teenager’s life.

The Oklahoma County deputy responded to a disturbance at Rogers Middle School on Friday. It was near the bus drop-off area where he found the teen bleeding from his arm.

The 17-year-old boy had severed an artery in his arm after punching out a school bus window, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The deputy said he knew he only had minutes to stop the bleeding. Body camera footage shows Jones running to the scene.

“A student's bleeding really bad, we have a big issue,” you can hear on the school radio.

When Deputy Jones got to the teen, you could hear his mother’s pleas for her son to cooperate. “Stop or you're going to pass out,” the mother said. “Please, stop now son.

“I knew I had to get a tourniquet to stop the bleeding, stop the dying,” Jones said. “As soon as I got him isolated and ‘hey focus on me,’ he calmed down.”

Jones is in his 11th year as a school resource officer, currently at Rogers Middle School in Spencer. “I do care for the kids that's why I’ve been doing it for so long,” he said.

However, this was his first life-or-death situation. “I don't believe I’m a hero, I believe I was at the right place at the right time and my training kicked in and I knew what to do,” Jones said.

Sheriff Tommie Johnson, III disagrees. “I certainly believe Deputy Jones is a hero,” Sheriff Johnson said. “To do what he did and understand and see the signs and then exercise his training and do it flawlessly, I think is tremendous,”

The Sheriff’s Office says the teen was trying to confront a student on the bus who he believed was harassing his younger sister when he slammed his arm through the school bus window. The sheriff says all 22 deputy SRO's undergo extensive training to respond to multiple situations at school throughout the county. While all carry tourniquets he recently added juvenile tourniquets to their response kits. “The push and shoves happen but that one day that you might need them they show up and they respond accordingly that is powerful,” Sheriff Johnson said.

Jones visited the boy after his surgery and said his condition was stable and he was doing well. “He was perked up and smiling and that was good for me,” Jones said.

The Sheriff’s Office says the boy will face charges, though, including destruction of school property and making threatening comments.