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Threatening an E.M.T.


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Nope, a class C felony. I believe this is a relatively recent law though so in the past it might have been a lesser crime. From what I've gotten from LEOs typically when someone is in a position to be charged with "Assault on a peace officer, police officer, fireman or emergency medical services professional" they are also violating other laws which will land them similar or more severe sentences.

I've included the text of the law below:

NYS Penal Code 120.08 Assault on a peace officer, police officer, fireman or emergency medical services professional.

A person is guilty of assault on a peace officer, police officer, fireman or emergency medical services professional when, with intent to prevent a peace officer, police officer, a fireman, including a fireman acting as a paramedic or emergency medical technician administering first aid in the course of performance of duty as such fireman, or an emergency medical service paramedic or emergency medical service technician, from performing a lawful duty, he causes serious physical injury to such peace officer, police officer, fireman, paramedic or technician.

Assault on a peace officer, police officer, fireman or emergency medical services professional is a class C felony.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I am not sure how recent that law is. My experience in NYC is quite similar to Richard B's. I've been spit at by a patient in police custody once, and one of the officers actually laughed. I wanted to spit on her. I've had one case where a 10-13 was called, PD showed up, then drove away without ever getting out of the car.

There have been other times where PD has been very reliable too.

Communication between agencies is lacking, especially for the poor EMS guys.

A 10-13 signal entered into the police communication system will automatically generate a PD13 call-type on the EMS side so an ambulance can start responding.

But, when EMS calls a 10-13:

PD may get a message that "EMS is requesting an RMP (police car)" which could mean anything.

Or it might come over as, "10-54(medical call) - EDP" which many officers go out of their way to avoid.

And that's assuming PD ever gets notified!

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LA Explorer: Your post gives little insight to what conditions you or your squad got in to.

How did you all carry yourselves? How did you look? Professional or hick volunteer rescue squad usual?

Applying situational awareness regardless of what "elevated penalties" there are for people who assault responders is better to start with than knowing if the law will prosecute someone who may have killed you or brought your EMS career to an end.

Somedic Sends.

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If law enforcement will not carry out the punishment for assaulting EMS personnel. You have the right to defend yourself its called GBBM treatmend modality.

How its written in our protocols is Green bottle behavioral modification. You grasp said green bottle in dominant hand, extend arm, in a fluent motion direct said bottle to posterior of pts cranium. Repeat treatment until desired effect is achieved. Thoroughly clean and disinfect said bottle. This is not a considered a sterile procedure and green bottle can be used to treat more then one pt. Remeber to adhere to all positive protective equipment protocols as this procedure has been proven at times to produce an arterial squirting blood reaction. This is not the desired effect and should not be a deterrent in deciding if this a realistic treatment decision in certain situations. After treatment goals have been met, package pt, and transport to appropriate facility. It treatment is extremely successful level 1 trauma center is a preferable destination however isn't mandatory.

This is considered both an ALS and BLS skill, no formal education is needed although at times this procedure can be invasive ALS providers need not be present. No medical control authorization is needed, and documentation of this treatment isn't necessary. :argue:

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In all seriousness this is a potentially harmful situation and you safety outweighs their need for medical attention. Sometimes decisions have to be made to ensure our safety. My partner and I are going home tonight, in the same condition we arrived. If that decision is detrimental to your health I apologize, however your medical needs don't trump the importance of our safety and my decisions will reflect that.

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Whit72, I truly DO hope you are being silly. The "Green Bottle" method sounds suspiciously like the "Louisville Slugger" anesthesia method, which is quite illegal in most jurisdictions.

(For those not from the US, Canada, Cuba, Japan, or the Dominican Republic, the Louisville Slugger is the name of a very well established baseball bat company. This club-like device is used to strike a small ball, in a game known in areas other than those I listed, as "Rounders".)

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