EMS Personnel and Electronic Control Devices
Feb. 26, 2008
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?
About the Author
Lt. Frank Borelli (ret), Editorial Director | Editorial Director
Lt. Frank Borelli is the Editorial Director for the Officer Media Group. Frank brings 20+ years of writing and editing experience in addition to 40 years of law enforcement operations, administration and training experience to the team.
Frank has had numerous books published which are available on Amazon.com, BarnesAndNoble.com, and other major retail outlets.
If you have any comments or questions, you can contact him via email at [email protected].
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