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Medic's carrying a pistol????
I know down by Detroit there are medic's carrying pistols for protection and even bullet proof jackets, but does anyone else know of city's that are doing the same thing or even fire departments that have some sort of protection like a bullet proof jacket. this seems to be a growing concern out there for everyone, just wanted to see your view on this issue.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by T.J. on
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OHHHHHHHHH MYYYYYYYYYY, you look way into things and are way off track of my question in the first place. I'll tell you what if a perp threatins me, I will show my weapon and then we'll go from there if I need to use deadly force or not.
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Permalink Reply by Glenn Young on
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We carry bullet proff vest on our units, but I don't see medics put in a situation that would need a gun. It is LEO that should provide us with that type of protection.
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Permalink Reply by Paul Montpetit on
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There is enough trouble getting people to train and someone wants to put a firearm in their hands...?? YIKES...!!!! Also it is well known that the number one hazard to law enforcement is their own weapon being taken from them and used against them.....Ballistic vest...?? Not a bad idea for MEDICS...But firefighters have enough weight and heat retaining equipment to have to deal with.......that's just my thought.......Paul (Hope I don't get my hand slapped again for offending someone....LOL)
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We could thin out the gene pool a little......(OOPS....I did it again)
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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on
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Bottom line - you survived without carrying a firearm and the cops did their job.
And...in the struggle with the perp, there's no telling where a firearm would have been pointed, or who might have been hit.
I've been to numerous shooting calls where no one could ever find some of the rounds that were fired. I'm also familiar with a shooting in which a cop was shot and killed by another cop who was "in front" of him when the cop who fired the shot was involved in a struggle for his weapon. The cop who fired the shot didn't plan to shoot behind himself, either, but that doesn't make the dead cop any less dead.
In your case, the outcome happened because you didn't use a firearm and the cops did. Any call that ends up with someone dead is not a "good" outcome.
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T.J.
If you show your weapon to someone who is already fighting you as in Damon's discussion above, you're not going to get a chance to "show your weapon". There's also a good chance that you're going to be shot with your own weapon. That happens to cops a lot more frequently that anyone would like. If it happens to the people who are assigned law enforcement duties, who frequently re-qualify with those weapons, and who are taught to maintain possession of their weapon as job #1, then it can easily happen to a firefighter or medic whose primary attention is likely focused on something other than law enforcement responsibilities.
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Paul,
As a firefighter who has carried body armor on the rig and worn it situationally, having it available is a good idea. I'm not advocating wearing it with turnout gear, ever. However, a lot of what an engine company does is EMS response where turnout gear isn't a factor. There's no reason to wear turnout gear on EMS calls, excluding wrecks.
I'm specifically talking about body armor in an external carrier vest, not armor worn under the uniform like the cops have.
As you know from other discussions, I'm a big advocate of "Dress for the sport you're playing".
Wear turnout gear to fires, extrication gear to extrications, wildland gear to wildland fires, technical rescue gear to technical rescues, and EMS gear and body armor to EMS responses where violence is likely. That's not going to protect you 100%, but it will help even the odds. I don't wear my snow-skiing clothes to the beach, and I don't wear my thong to snow ski. The body armor vs. turnout gear issue is pretty much the same thing.
There have been two or three events where a perp set a fire to draw fire, LEOs, and EMS into an ambush, and there have been a couple of incidents where firefighters have been shot during civil disturbances. Those are terrible, tragic events. They're also very rare. Response to violent scenes is an every day event in some places, and the firefighters who respond to those incidents generally do more EMS work than fires. In that world, having the option body armor for violent scene EMS responses and turnout gear for fires is a good idea.
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Bingo! Excellent point that keeps seperate issues seperate. There's a huge difference between having a 2nd-amendment right to have firearms for home or small business protection and in non LEOs carrying on duty.
In my department and every other fire and EMS department in my region, possession of a firearm on duty, in a department vehicle, or on government property is ground for immediate termination of employment...as it should be.
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Why would you want to carry a wimply little automatic weapon like that?
If you want firepower, tow one of these babies behind the ambulance or engine!
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Permalink Reply by Darryll Hamlin on
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I DONT BELIEVE THAT CARRING A WEAPON DURING YOUR SHIFT IS A VERY GOOD IDEA ALTHOUGH I KNOW TWO FROM TWO DIFFERENT AMBULANCES IN NORTHERN MI AND ONLY ONE LOCAL DEPT HAS VESTS I THINK VEST SHOULD BE ON EVERY RIG.TAKE CARE ,BE SAFE AND GOD BLESS.
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Permalink Reply by Brian Dumser on
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Now I see another discussion on cannon colors. "What color is your F.D.'s cannon?" LOL "Are your cannon operators trained?" LOL
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Permalink Reply by rick estep on
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I have been doing the firefighting and ems thing for 20 years now and i have had knives and guns pulled on me. I am one of those that strongly belive that we should be allowed to carry firearms as long as everyone involved pursues the proper firearms training. you should have to recert every time the local police or sheriff does. My deparment just had a incident where we responded to a shooting call. We sent one truck to the scene after the sheriff had arrived and had secured the scene. when the frist squad arrived, we had one victim. the shooter had left. the back-up squad was on station waiting to see if they were needed when the shooter pulled in. he had asked if we responding to the shooting call across the way. when we informed him we already had a truck there, he procedded to tell us he was the shooter. the chief looked down in the vehicle to see a loaded 9mm with laser sights laying there. now keep in mind that law enforcement was on the actual shooting scene. so now you have two scenes. what were we to do if he pulled the gun on one of us? that's why i think we should be allowed to protect ourselves and our brothers and sisters. it's only going to get worse with everything that's going on in the world today.
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