General Categories > Carry Issues
Role of EMS/EMT Personnel in Securing Handgun During Emergency
wallace11bravo:
I've refrained from commenting, as although I am an EMT, I do not work as one regularly.
DaveB; Before you get your panties all up in a bunch, consider this:
Long standing doctrine of battlefield casualty care is to disarm any patient with an even slightly altered mental status. This is part of your AVPU assessment, just after considering spinal immobilization (that is for gsd), in other words: one of the first things you do. A "A slightly altered mental status" can and does include, unconsciousness, not knowing where you are or what happened, panicking, inability to stand....... in other words: almost EVERY casualty worth any real attention.
This is a matter of safety and security of the unit, the care provider, and the individual. People who just suffered blast or ballistic trauma rarely behave rationally, often become hostile towards anyone and everyone, and in some cases become suicidal. Disarming them includes taking away all weapons and ordnance. Medical Evacuation units will not accept casualties that are still armed with so much as a smoke canister.
Casualties are disarmed in combat, often while under fire. I think you can tolerate being disarmed because an emergency care provider does not know you, does not have a complete knowledge of your previous or current mental state, and is responsible not only for his own safety, but, in part, the safety of all of the responding personnel.
sjwsti:
It seems quite clear. You have a duty to inform if contacted by EMS/Fire. It is at the discretion of the Lead Medic to secure or not secure your weapon.
There has been no official training for us on how to do that safely. There are plenty of EMT/Paramedics at every dept who have never handled a weapon before. Its probably one more good reason why you should always carry in a holster. One that can be removed from you without taking the gun out of it.
OFDs standard operating procedure states that no firearms are permitted in the rescue squad and will never be knowingly transported by a rescue squad. The weapon will be secured and given to responding LE. If transport must be initiated prior to the arrival of LE the weapon will be kept at the scene by OFD personnel and given to the responding Officers there.
--- Quote from: DaveB on December 01, 2012, 05:56:27 AM ---Once again, legal gun carriers are treated as if we are intent on causing harm to people trying to help us all because we have a permit to carry.
The law is the law, but I'll bet the ones without permits will be a lot less likely to inform an EMT that they are carrying.
--- End quote ---
911 gets called because something is wrong. I assume everyone I meet at a scene is armed and dangerous until proven otherwise. Not everyone is happy to see us and attempted assaults on EMS personnel are a regular occurrence were I work. Have any of these violent patients been CCW holders? No, and I wouldn't expect them to be. That said, I must always be prepared for things to go sour, permit or not.
If the injury is traumatic or the medical issue critical, exactly as posted above, you will be disarmed immediately.
Like many things, what happens will depend on how you act. If your alert, cooperative and wont need transport to an ER, you will most likely keep your weapon. You will sign a refusal of treatment form and be on your way.
Act hostile and indignant, it will go differently. First I will assume you may be having a medical issue altering your mental state. Your weapon will be secured and given to LE. You will be treated and transported to an ER were LE will respond and return your weapon once your feeling better. If all medical issues are ruled out and your just being a PITA, well my guess is you will be left to deal with LE. Good luck with that.
- Shawn
CitizenClark:
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