ATLANTA, Texas - In February 2000, Bowie County Sheriff's Deputy Bobby Dupree stopped a car for speeding on Interstate 30 near New Boston, Texas. The driver pulled a weapon and opened fire.
Dupree was shot three times at point-blank range. He was seriously injured but was able to pull himself to his vehicle, radio for help and apply tourniquets to his wounds from a homemade kit of emergency supplies he kept in his patrol unit.
Now 20 years later, Dupree's son Garon Dupree, 17, is organizing a Protect the Thin Blue Line 5K Benefit Run on Saturday to purchase "Stop the Bleed" kits for area law enforcement officers.
"Stop the Bleed" kits are designed to provide the user with immediate access to products intended to stop traumatic hemorrhaging. They're vacuum-packed and tamper-proofed for easy storage and opening and can easily be carried in vehicles.
The event is Garon's Eagle Scout project, but the issue has always been very close to his heart because of his father.
"It's a great cause and it really hits home with me. When my dad was shot, he got back to the car and grabbed his kit. It saved his life. If he had not had it, I wouldn't be here today," Garon said.
Dupree is now retired from law enforcement. The suspect who shot him was apprehended and convicted.
Garon was born about two years after his dad was shot. He is now a senior at Atlanta High School and hopes to study criminal justice in college and become a game warden.
The 5K is open to runners and walkers and will be at 4 p.m. Saturday at 210 East Hiram St. in Atlanta. Registration is $30.
Garron would like to equip all patrol units in the Atlanta Police Department with trauma kits, and eventually all law enforcement vehicles in Cass County.
His goal is to raise $2,000. He wants the kits to include large bandages and tourniquets, along with other medical supplies.
"I want them to have the whole nine yards, anything that can stop a bleed," he said.
Garon also hopes the 5K benefit can be an annual event.