"Two FDNY EMTs who had to intervene to stop four police officers beating a handcuffed patient on a stretcher have turned the cops in to authorities"
""Three cops began to punch the patient in the face, EMS (had) to get in the middle of it to intervene. Pt's. wounds and injuries cleaned in the (ambulance)," the report said."
The article was based on answers to questions to the FDNY and NYPD, as well as the report filed by the EMTs.
The article shows the fact that EMTs had to step in to prevent police officers from further abusing an inmate/patient. The purpose of EMS is to take care of people that are hurt accidentally or in crimes, not to pull police officers off of patients. This article is purely factual, but shows a very poor example of police "helping" EMTs.
FDNY, NYPD, the 2 EMTs, and a spokesperson from FDNY. No names were released.
This article is all about emergency response. Could you imagine being called to a scene where the patient is sustaining injuries from a police officer? As EMTs, we are trained to help police for help if the patient is combative or a minor, and all they should do is restrain the patient or act as their parent for custody purposes. The police officer should not be the reason we have to provide care, unless someone's safety was at risk - which it does not seem was the case. This situation shows increased risk for EMTs in the field and more challenges we are facing each day with the politics and violence around police departments these days.
I looked up other cases of EMTs having to intervene with police, typical ways police help on medical calls, and how police are trained to deal with being spit on.
"The violence broke out when the patient spit at the Emergency Service Unit officers and swore at them. The officers responded by hitting him in the face, hauling him off the stretcher to the ground and then tossing him back on the stretcher, "
"After the first round of punches, the patient was "taken off the stretcher to the ground and restrained again, pt. was thrown by ESU again on to my stretcher," the EMT wrote. "Pt. sustained injuries to face and head," the report said."
information for this article was obtained from an incident report submitted by the ambulance crew to FDNY administrators