NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release:  Tuesday, August 9, 2005

Summer lifesaving extended to Hartford police officer!
Officer Doug Lariviere is just one example of a life saved by donated blood!

(Hartford, CT)  -- Hartford Police Officer Doug Lariviere is living proof that blood helps save lives.  In June 2002, Officer Lariviere was stabbed and beaten while responding to a domestic violence call. He remembers it vividly.   “It (donated blood) saved my life,” he said recently. “People don’t understand unless they have a need for it. And I think everyone believes there is plenty of blood.” 

Today, Officer Doug Lariviere is back on duty as a school resource officer in Hartford’s Learning Corridor. A blood drive in his honor is planned for August 10, 2005 at the Hartford Police Union, 40F Weston Street, Hartford between the hours of 8:00 AM and 12:45 PM. More importantly, Officer Lariviere is sharing his story to in order to help prevent the summer shortages that plague Connecticut.

“I was sent to a 9-1-1 hang-up call,” Lariviere recalled, noting that it is standard procedure to follow-up on all 9-1-1 calls. “I knocked on the door of the apartment. At first there was no answer. Then a guy came to the door. When I asked him about the hand-up, he said it was probably his kid playing with the phone.” 

It was then that Lariviere heard a snoring sound from behind a door near the apartment where the emergency call originated. Lariviere’s suspicions were aroused. 

“I asked the guy what was behind the door where I heard the noise,” Lariviere said. “And the guy said it was a hallway. I told him to open the door to the hallway so that I could check.”  

It was then that Lariviere heard a female voice whisper from behind the door, asking for help.  

Once the door opened, Lariviere recalled that the hallway was pitch black – and that he took precautions to keep the one person whom he’d already encountered in his sights. But for a split second when the suspect was in his blind spot, the man stabbed Lariviere in the neck, and beat him with a wooden board. 

 “I lost lots of blood,” Lariviere stated, all the while continuing to fight the suspect, who was now trying to grab the officer’s service revolver. “I radioed for help and an off-duty officer showed up, but he couldn’t see me. It was pitch black.”

The gun went off, narrowly missing Lariviere. His fellow officer radioed in that shots had been fired, resulting in an urgent response from officers throughout the city who descended upon the scene.  

While Lariviere was rushed to the hospital, it was determined that the “snoring” that came from the hallway was that of the suspect’s 19-year-old girlfriend, whom he had twice choked into unconsciousness. The suspect also stabbed the couple’s 2-year-old daughter. Both survived their injuries. The suspect is now in jail. 

At the hospital, Officer Lariviere underwent surgery, but was certain something was not right when he awakened. 

“I know the detectives were there asking questions,” he recalled. “I was bandaged up, and I started throwing up blood. So I asked the nurse ‘Hey, are you going to put some of this back into me?’” 

A second surgery began almost immediately to repair damage undetected in the first surgery. Upon coming out of the subsequent operation, however, Officer Lariviere couldn’t talk. He was handed a pen and paper for his communication needs. One of the questions he asked was “How much blood did I need?” He was told he received five blood transfusions, for which he is grateful. 

“I am a donor. Everybody should donate,” he urged.  

GIVE THE GIFT OF LIFE – GIVE BLOOD!

 Please call 1-800-GIVE LIFE or visit www.bloodct.org to make an appointment. 

If you are 17 or older, weigh 110 pounds or more, and are in generally good health, you may be eligible to donate blood.  Positive ID is required at the time of donation.   

Contact:   Nancy Mulroy, Public Information Officer, Hartford Police Department,  (860) 543-8746
Visit www.hartford.gov for more Hartford Police News
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