Originally Posted by
Mr. Goodtimes
I think that the correct path is to do something similar to what many agencies do with their SWAT medics, TEMS, whatever you want to call them. Not all agencies arm their medics, however we do.
At my department we send our SWAT Medics to the police academy, they become sworn reserve officers with the Sheriffs Department and therefore possess arrest powers and are armed.
They train a couple times a month with the SWAT team and they are also encouraged to work overtime helping out with serving warrants etc... to stay fresh.
Currently we keep all of our SWAT medics at one Station, they run calls like normal firefighters however, if the SWAT team gets a call out, they go out of service, gear up and respond. IMO it’s far from the best way to do things, but it is the cheapest because it requires the least amount of man power.
I think that a lot of the issues we have are related to resistance to change. Many people don’t want to admit that times are changing and it’s probably time to start looking at arming EMS crews or at a minimum having armed crews prepared to respond to an active shooter or terrorist incident.
If we are going to send an EMS worker into an environment that involves them wearing a vest, they absolutely, positively need to be armed and possess the ability to defend them selves.
I can assure you, If someone handed me a vest with the intend of sending me into the hot zone, I better have a firearm and the appropriate training to go with it, and preferably a long gun.
I understand that smaller departments may not have the budget, however, in an area like where I work (large metropolitan department) we have the budget, or at least could, and absolutely have access to the resources.
I think the solution is to have multiple armed paramedics on duty every shift scattered through the departments various stations. This would obviously be a highly specialized position but, just like we have arson investigators and air truck drivers, training officers and other specialized positions, we need to have an armed medic position. They would have LEO credentials and receive all the specialized training that goes with their jobs.
These medics would be assigned a station to work out of and respond from, however, they rotate every month between being at the fire station on an ALS apparatus of some kind, and riding shotgun with a SWAT officer while he’s on patrol. In both instances they would be armed and ready to respond to an incident.
You can’t hand a medic a gun and expect him or her to be a good law enforcement officer and you can’t hand a law enforcement officer a trauma bag and expect him or her to be a good medic, their both highly specialized positions that require years of experience; IMO the solution I propose above provides the best solution.
Also, I do think it’s more appropriate to arm medics than it is to turn cops into medics such is the case with SWAT medics. A SWAT medic is a medic first and foremost and a SWAT team member second. Kicking doors and doing basic SWAT work is a lot easier to teach someone than the other way around. As a SWAT medic you’re somewhat insulated from having to do most police work, however, if you have to render aid you’re THE medic, and that requires a lot of experience and training that can only be acquired from years of actual application of skills. An armed medic has a very specific job that does not involve a lot of what police actually do.
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