Mr. Stokes,
I wonder if you would still stand by your recent comments that paramedics and EMTs "have got to take that risk," and "can't let citizens die," if faced with the families of the following EMS workers who were murdered while performing care on scenes such as the one you question. Yes, EMS is an inherently dangerous job, but it seems you do not value EMTs if you think they should routinely put themselves in the line of fire when they are NOT armed like police officers and NOT trained like police officers.
I also wonder how you figure that a dead EMT will do a wounded patient any good. In fact, common sense says that staying alive long enough to treat a patient is actually the best way to not "let citizens die," rather than bringing a box of bandaids to a gunfight. Common sense also says that risking the death of one wounded citizen is better than risking the death of the people sent to help them and consequently the wounded patient as well, but apparently common sense is something you are lacking.
So please, feel free to share your beliefs with the families of the following murdered EMTs and paramedics. You do still hold that their deaths are acceptable losses in exchange for the victims they were trying to save, correct? I would also like to point out that the reason there aren't many more on this list is due to the fact that every single EMS service in the country has the same policy as AMR. However, you are telling the world that these policies should be erased, and the list of dead EMTs, their widows/widowers, and fatherless/motherless children should be much longer.
Lt. Brenda D. Cowan, EMT, of Lexington Div Fire & Emergency Services; Lexington, KY - shot and killed on scene while tending to a shooting victim on February 13, 2004.
Steve Patrick Lovato, EMT, of AMR; Roswell, NM - shot and killed by a suicidal man they were trying to help, who had lit his girlfriend's house on fire and was suffering from burns on March 16, 2002. The man also murdered a Fire Chief and a toddler.
Mark B. Davis, EMT, of Cape Vincent Volunteer Fire Dept.; Cape Vincent, NY - shot and killed by an agitated man possibly having a heart attack, who became violent while the EMTs were trying to help him on January 30, 2009.
Anthony N. Pirraglia, Paramedic/RN, of Meducare; Charleston, SC - shot and killed by a man he was trying to help after he witnessed him crash his car on January 19, 2002. Another RN with Pirraglia was also shot and wounded.
Mr. Stokes, AMR does not owe anyone an apology for keeping their employees safe and alive. YOU owe AMR, the entire global EMS community, and the families of the above slain EMTs an apology. The next time you are tempted to compulsively point the finger at lifesaving professionals in an industry you know nothing about, stop and think before you speak, and maybe do some research.
