Jan. 12, 2026
By Nicolle Alvarez
Editor
Forty seniors in the Law Enforcement Club gained hands-on emergency medical training and learned about public safety during a field trip to the Lyndhurst Fire and Police Departments on Dec. 2.
The trip was led by school resource Officer Lt. Steven Passamano, who advises the Law Enforcement Club and has been a Lyndhurst police officer for 23 years.
“The trip was about providing students with information that may potentially save a life,” Passamano said. “One day, they may be faced with a traumatic incident, and I want to make sure they know how to help.”
At the Fire Department, Officer Angel Batista taught attending students the “Stop the Bleed” technique, demonstrating how to identify severe bleeding and provide basic first aid until help arrives.
After Batista’s presentation, students practiced applying tourniquets to one another and stuffing pool noodles and foam blocks that simulated open wounds on the human body.
Then, Passamano showed students how to administer Narcan, also known as naloxone, which is inserted into a person’s nostril to reverse an opioid overdose.
“Narcan is now readily available to people, and you’re going to start to see it all over the place,” Passamano said. “It is good to have an understanding of how to use it in the event that [students] find themselves in a situation where a stranger, a friend or a family member is overdosing.”
Following the “Stop the Bleed” and Narcan training, which lasted about two hours, the students headed over to the Lyndhurst Police Department.
“Students enjoy [learning about] the arrest process and taking a tour of the jail cells. This is a good reminder for them, as they become adults, to always do the right thing,” Passamano said.
Senior Kesiah Boyd said she appreciates the skills she gained during the field trip.
“I learned how to use a tourniquet and the difference between a minor and major cut. It was really about knowing what to do in the case of an emergency to help even when under pressure,” Boyd said.
She said that when needed, she will put the information she learned from the “Stop the Bleed” training to use.
“Everyone should go to a ‘Stop the Bleed’ seminar,” Boyd said. “For example, I have a little sister, and in case of any injury, I want to know how I can help her and be useful in a situation like that.”
Senior Francis Sanmartino, who hopes to become a police officer, said the field trip gave him insight into what a career in law enforcement would look like.
“I actually didn’t know police officers had to provide help with tourniquets before paramedics got to the scene,” Sanmartino said. “When I become a cop, there will be many situations where people get hurt, so I could probably use a tourniquet on someone if anything happens.”
Sanmartino said the most interesting part of the field trip was participating in the tourniquet demonstration.
“Students enjoy [learning about] the arrest process and taking a tour of the jail cells. This is a good reminder for them, as they become adults, to always do the right thing.”
“[Officer Batista] put a tourniquet on my leg, teaching everyone, including me, how to properly use it. It hurt a lot [because of how tight it needed to be], but it helped me know what to expect if I am ever in a situation where a tourniquet needs to be used,” Sanmartino said.
He said another interesting aspect of the field trip was looking inside the jail cells and camera rooms, which project real-time videos from various sites around town.
“I did not know [the police] had surveillance of everything,” Sanmartino said. “I feel very protected because they know where I am at all times.”
