Should EMS Be Armed?

I am a strong proponent of the individual rights the Second Amendment spells out for us. Notice I said spells out, the Second Amendment merely defines or explains the rights we already possess. Government does not have the power or the authority to take these away. This is not a new or original position, and I am not the first to express it. It is however what I believe. I am permitted to carry a concealed weapon in my home state and do so religiously where legal and appropriate ( almost everywhere). I do not take this responsibility lightly. And make no mistake and armed citizen takes on an awesome responsibility. They incur the responsibility to remain proficient with their designated firearm and to stay vigilant and aware so as to avoid confrontation. They must be acutely aware of the force continuum and when to use it appropriately .

I also am very passionate about emergency medicine. EMS providers also need to be acutely aware of protocol and when to proceed into a scene. Scene safety is something that is drilled into every EMS student. However in the ever changing world we live in a scene that may be deemed safe initially could evolve into something quite different during the course of a call. Also you have rural EMS services where law enforcement may be a good distance away during the initial scene size up.

 EMS providers must be afforded the same rights and opportunities that are afforded to private citizens.Arming EMS in situations where it may be appropriate is a discussion that must be pursued.

Here are some resources to continue the discussion

An excellent podcast on EMS STANDING ORDERS

http://emsstandingorders.com/2011/12/13/episode-8-surviving-the-next-shift/

Posts by nationally recognized EMS educator  and Second Amendment advocate Kelly Grayson

http://ambulancedriverfiles.com/2011/09/06/gun-rights-were-winning/

http://ambulancedriverfiles.com/2007/01/26/the-armed-emt/

Discuss amongst yourselves

Extracurricular Activites #3 :Reserve Deputy Sheriff

As I have written before besides my regular job I also work/volunteer at a few other activities. I officiate high school sports and work as a Emergency Medical technician. Another activity on my ADD inspired list of tasks is I am a reserve deputy sheriff in a rural county in northeastern Iowa. How I got hooked up with this activity was a somewhat long process. I happened to be talking to one of the security officers that works for my company and he mentioned he was a reserve officer in this county and that they were hiring reserves. This interested me for several reasons. This county is the county where my family is originally from and I used to visit it quite a bit when I was young. I have always been interested in law enforcement and I also thought it may give me a more well rounded approach and add some credibility to my day job as operations manager for a contract security company.

So I obtained and application and turned it in. And I waited and waited and waited.. eventually I forgot about it entirely. One day over a year after sending in the application I got a call from the reserve captain inquiring if i was still interested. Although I had forgotten all about it I told him sure. He arranged an interview and once that was done, I completed my processing,fingerprints,background check etc.. Then I was a provisional deputy. In the state of Iowa to become a fully qualified reserve deputy you have to finish the reserve officer academy in 18 months and attend and pass weapons training. Each individual sheriff then can designate how he wants the reserve deputies used in his county.

At this point I am one module from completing the reserve academy and I have completed the weapons training etc.. The sheriff in my county allows reserves to augment regular deputies for special events such as fairs, rodeos etc.. I have participated in several of these events. He also allows reserve deputies to operate independently once they are qualified and have a certain number of hours spent as a rider with a regular deputy. I currently am still conducting my ride time and may get on my own sometime this summer. Honestly I am not in too much of a hurry as I enjoy riding with the other deputies and  seeing how they operate.

As I mentioned the county I operate in is rural and it has the normal rural law enforcement issues. Animal versus car accidents,speeding,OWI,drugs etc.. There are only two towns in the county that have their own police forces, the rest of the small communities contract with the Sheriff's Office to patrol their towns and provide law enforcement support. So much of my time on duty consists of patrolling these towns or checking for speeders on one of the two highways that bisect the county. I try to work 2-3 times per month and so far I really enjoy it. Eventually I may try to get on as a reserve in a department a little closer to home but for now I like where I am at