EMS Personnel and Electronic Control Devices
Frank Borelli
Editor-in-Chief
Officer.com
Recently Officer.com and Firehouse.com ran a joint poll on our homepages. The poll question revolved around the need for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) responders to have TASERs or not. Most public safety personnel are aware that often the EMS folks get to the scenes of violent crimes before the police do. Hopefully, in bad neighborhoods, they wait for the police escort. It doesn’t always work that way. So, the question arose: should they have TASERs as defense tools?
The answers actually surprised me a little bit. Listed below is the question and the answer options with each answer followed by the percentage of votes. The percentages are shown as “Officer.com %/Firehouse.com %.”
The question: Should EMS members be issued TASERs?
Yes: the law enforcement TASER with training for deployment and treatment. 27% / 16%
Yes: the civilian TASER with training for deployment and treatment. 8% / 19%
Yes: either one with deployment training. 13% / 4%
Yes: in their vehicle - not on their person. 7% / 7%
No: EMS responders don’t need TASERs. 45% / 50%
Now, here are a few observations about those answers:
- If we had used the term “Electronic Control Devices” (ECDs) instead of “TASER”, I can’t help but wonder if it would have made a difference. We certainly didn’t mean to focus on the manufacturer of the tool - as there are other companies who make ECDs. We meant to focus on the tool and I can’t help but wonder if the negative general media exposure for TASER had an impact on the answers.
- Based on the 27% response on Officer.com for the first option, an average of one in every four police officers feels that EMS responders should have the Law Enforcement standard ECD provided it’s accompanied with proper training for deployment and treatment. To me this is neat. More police feel more ambulance personnel SHOULD HAVE ECDs. Do you think the EMS folks ever would have thought they had that much support from the police side?
- 7% of each community felt that ECDs would be good to have but only in the vehicle; not on the person. I don’t get that at all. The point of having the self-defense tool is to be able to defend yourself from an immediate and spontaneous attack. What good does the ECD do when it’s in the ambulance and you’re inside an apartment rendering aid when attacked?
- In total, 55% of the LE community feels EMS personnel should have such tools. Compare that to 50% of the EMS folks who responded on Firehouse.com. Again I have to wonder if the EMS side doesn’t realize the support they enjoy from the LE side?
Look folks… we’re all on the same side. There may be differing levels of respect; or perceived differences in performance standards or something. But here’s my bottom line:
When I get hurt and need the ambulance to show up to fix me, those are my boys. They are on my team. Most of them wear blue too! This is why I always try to extend professional courtesy to them. So what if they’re volunteers. To me this only makes their dedication and courage more admirable.
Bearing all that in mind, what’s your outlook on them having ECDs? Personally, my vote was for them to have them on their person with proper deployment and treatment training. As an instructor for one brand of ECDs I’d be happy to provide such training to them.
Your thoughts?
This may be a knee jerk response to this question, but here goes: As ex-LE, an EMS Provider and Tactical Medic, I would vote no to EMS providers, even with the proper training, having ECDs. Why? As we all know, an ECD is no guarantee that a situation will be resolved with their use. And, for the most part, it’s usually a one shot deal. Use it, you’re done and therefore vulnerable to subsequent attack by bystanders, family, etc. EMS should continue to do what they’ve been taught to do: standoff, stage, let LE contain and control, then go on scene. Yes, I will admit that have been many instances where EMS providers got on scene and have been assaulted. But, to my knowledge, it’s not that overwhelming a situation in most localities. My mindset, as medic, has always been, I am not obligated to treat anyone I consider an uncontrolled threat. I will immediately leave the scene, if threatened, and not give a tinkers bell what happens to the aggressor. And, I’ve never worked as a medic for an organization that allowed weapons of any sort in the ambulance or to possess them in any shape or fashion. Getting past that mindset with most EMS agencies may be the biggest hurdle of all.
Yes, they should be issued Tasers
I have been a medic in Northern Oregon for 5 years and in that time I have felt the need to switch to carrying concealed and wearing a CBA. I know a lot of my fellow personell have done the same. It is not that we are trying to be police but we are targets to with the medics and engines having no defense mechanisms other that a police escort. I hope some day that it does come to wearing a ECD or other time of PD item. I also know that upon responding into a home we see people at their most vonerable state and often they are afraid of the Police. We are not the police and anything a PT. tells us is protected by HIPPA. So I can see both sides. On the one we want protection on the other our pts want us not to be COPS.
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I think it depends on the individual medic. From training as LE, we saw that the aggressors are learning to roll the wires. Plus, who is going to control the pt after the ride of all those amps? Are medics going to start carrying cuffs? In the apt. scenario, are you going to tase and flee, leaving probes in? Tase until LE gets there? A lot of unknowns. Perhaps sedate instead of cuff? I also might ask about the “volunteer” statement. Why are so many full timers hung up on this? Our reserve deputies took the same amps as full timers. Think the full timers shook off the taser? Did the reserves pee themselves and quit? HMMM?
I work in a Chicago-area hospital as a hospital Security Officer. We wear body armor and carry the Taser - why not the paramedics who bring us these problem cases?