Why did the police accompany the paramedics?
Cops are sent to most ambulance calls. For one thing since they are on patrol already they often get to the scene to help before the paramedics. For another they lend a hand, paramedics have more trouble arguing with family members about what to do and where to take the victim then you realize. And then if not engine company shows up for a physical assist the cops helps get the victim to the ambulance. You may not have stairs or your wife may not have been trapped in a strange position in the bath tub but that happens and two paramedics just cannot handle all physically, especially while trying to stabilize the patient. I am always amazed at the comment about how many cars show up at any call. It makes a difference if one or two man cars. No dispatcher is sending a one man car alone to a ambulance call at a house, they tend to also be domestic disturbances. If a supervisor or another car is nearby and thinks they can help they go along. So if a two man car is assigned and no one else is nearby you may get one car to show up. But if two one man cars are assigned and you have 5 cars two clocks away doing a seat belt check then you may have 5 or 6 cars show up to help. The only time we escort ambulances (since they are rarely that in a hurry since they try to stabilize on scene before transport) is when we have a gang banger shot and are expecting trouble.
Can the police breathalyse an injured driver after an accident?
Yes, but in this force area at least police will never test a casualty under medical treatment without the consent of the doctor concerned. Usual practice is for an officer to go to the hospital and, after giving the doctor a chance to assess the casualty, ask the doctor (there's a preset format of words to be used) if they consider there is any reason for the casualty not to be tested. Some doctors always refuse to agree, some actually consider their patient's condition first. Depends. The doctor's view is always accepted. We always knew here that if we walked into A&E and saw a particular doctor on duty it would be a waste of time. Nevertheless we always asked. Another doctor (a very relaxed Australian) would often say "Yeah, don't see why not, mate." Presuming the patient was fit to do it, of course.
Does the police dispatcher send a squad car if you call 911 and just let the phone hang and not say anything?
Locally, the Township PD where I live more or less automatically and always send a car.... (Cellphone calls without location information get a response, too, but it's more of a "look around" sort of thing.)Once in a while, on a callback, the Dispatcher is able to figure out that the call was in error or otherwise that it's not necessary to send a car, and once in a while it's more of a "my pizza is late" kind of thing, too. (Scanners can be fun.)(The pizza folks are at least informed of the law, if not cited. Sometimes it's just easier to go someplace else to laugh....)I've carried some kind of cellphone on my belt since about 1992, and until about 2005, they were "flip" types. That buries the keyboard inside the phone when not in use. No way to butt-dial.... Once, though, my flip (Moto StarTAC) was sick, and the cell provider loaned me a "candy bar" type phone. That's a "stick" with buttons on the front, and unshielded. I programmed the loaner, and stuck it on my belt.Got a call about an hour later from the PD. Seems that my candy bar phone was bumping the arm of my chair, and calling them. (At least it wasn't 911....) They heard me talking to somebody else (using a landline), and decided that it wasn't a problem, but did try to reach me. Fixed that....Then there was the time, pre-911, when I brought a communications program home from the former day job, and it had a "dialer" feature set up to dial "91" (for an outside line) before continuing with the call. Naturally, the first call I made was to an LD number. The dialer popped out "91", and then the "1" that the telco wants to signify an LD call. The CO ignored the rest of the numbers and sent it to an Operator. In those days, they'd forward such calls to the PD, but did have a little bit of discretion. I fixed that one....
Police Officers? (Student that needs Q/A research)?
Hello! I am a student currently studying a module called "Type & Image Intermediate" on my Graphic Design degree and I need the best research I can get and so this includes asking questions to my chosen trade. I chose Police Officers and so I was just curious as to whether you would mind taking the time to answer some questions I have that give me a better insight to what the force/individual policing is about! If there are any questions you would rather not answer please just fill the space with "-". 1 - What prompted you to want to join the police force? 2- Have you been in a situation that could harm you and what did you do to get out of it? 3- Would you say that when working with a team of Police Officers on one job, you feel safer or more confident? Or do you feel you can handle what comes your way when there may only be two of you on one job? 4- A lot of people see the Police in a negative way, what do you think to this? 5- Are you more concerned about the number of arrests you do in one day, or would you say that the safety of a community concerns you more? 6- How much training was involved before you qualified as a Police Officer? 7- When off duty do you still feel a commitment to look after a community? E.g. Do you look out for anything that looks suspicious subconsciously? 8- I personally believe that the Police aren't just there to make arrests and pull people over on the roads, I believe that they are there to look after communities and assure people that they are safe in their hands? Would you agree with me? 9- Are their any laws you disagree with? 10- Do you feel that there are some situations that you find it incredibly difficult to deal with, such as discovering the death of a member of the community? Or do you channel your feelings more towards getting justice for that person? Thank you very much!
Why do Americans call 911 (Fire brigade) in a medical emergency instead of the hospital (ambulance)?
As others have said, calling 911 in the vast majority of the United States connects you to a central dispatch center who will send the appropriate fire department, ambulance service or law enforcement resources needed.Now why do Hollywood shows typically show firefighters responding to calls for medical aid? Simple, Hollywood is a part of Los Angeles, and here in the City of LA, the Los Angeles Fire Department is the sole authorized provider of 911 EMS in the city limits. Typically a call for an ambulance will result in a fire engine and ambulance staffed with Firefighter/EMTs, unless the information you provide to the dispatch center about the nature of the call and the patient's Chief Complaint show a need for advanced life support then they'll send an ambulance staffed with Firefighter/Paramedics instead.The theory in us is that when the ambulance is transporting the patient to the hospital, the fire engine and it's company of FF/EMTs is now available to respond to the next call in their district when an ambulance has has to be dispatched from the next district over. While the call may “only” get a basic life support ambulance the LAFD operates assuming the worst that they need the closer fire engine's EMTs and Paramedics (many engine companies have at least one medic on the crew) are needed to stabilize a critical patient before the ambulance coming from further away can get on scene. Plus it keeps response times down, which the people of LA consider too long already.Since this is the way it is in Hollywood, that's how the Hollywood writers, producers, etc show it in their shows, that's exactly what they're used to.
Can you call the police on the police?
It happens now and again. The most common thing I’ve seen is the caller doesn’t like what he/she is being told by us (the city police) so they call 911 again, while we’re standing there, to get a deputy sheriff to come out. The county sheriff has jurisdiction across the county - to include my city. I’ve yet to see that tactic get them what they want.I can recall an elderly woman calling the Idaho State Police when we refused to ticket ,and tow, vehicles that were parked in front of her house. Vehicles that were parked legally and not a hazard. She was just a mean, unpleasant individual, who did not like her neighbors and hated the fact that they were having hosting a wedding reception. Idaho State Police let us know that she was calling them and did not respond.I also recall an individual complaining to the FBI several years ago. He was reporting that we had violated his right to travel, which is protected under the 9th Amendment of the United States Constitution. The Ninth Amendment addresses rights, retained by the people, that are not specifically enumerated in the Constitution. It is part of the United States Bill of Rights. What happened was one night he was very intoxicated and kept wandering away from a party and disturbing the neighborhood. We did not have a Disorderly Conduct City Code at the time and nobody wanted to sign a complaint against him for disturbing their peace so we had to keep taking him back to the party. He wasn’t walking out in the streets either so we couldn’t get him for that. Eventually he fell asleep/passed-out. The next day he called the local FBI office. An agent looked into the matter and found the complaint to be unfounded.Yes you can call other police agencies to complain about the agency you’re dealing with, but the response you get will depend on the circumstances.
EMTS and paramedics: what advice would you give to a legal adult trying to refuse medical attention so that they "don't waste your time"?
I'm a NYS & NYC Paramedic. This is a procedure we follow to secure a RMA (Refusal of Medical Aid). I'm trying to keep this as simple as possible.If you are over the age of 18 then its very simple and straight forward. If you are alert and oriented (IE: you are mentally capable of making decisions) and arent seriously injured or sick then you can refuse care. We assess your mental status by asking you questions. So be polite and answer them. We are not asking you all those questions to be nosey. We are trying to see if you are capable of making sound decisions. You can simply say I don't want to be seen and we'll leave you alone.If you have obvious injuries or illness then we have to secure a RMA AMA (Refusal of Medical Aid Against Medical Advice). This involves us calling a doctor on a recorded line and the doctor trying to convince you to accept treatment. If you insist on being left alone then the doctor will explain all the risks of the RMA-AMA including Death. Then the doctor will give us the OK, you'll sign some paperwork and then you'll be left alone. We have left people to die simply because they wanted to be left alone. As you can see the medical community is big on respecting people's wishes. We don't want to force people to go to hospital. But we have to make sure we are protected from liability in the event you change your mind and accuse us of abandoning you. It has happend before. It's not going to be quick. It will take some time. In normal situation it will take about 15min of talking to EMS. In an AMA situation it might take 30 to 45min. So be patient. This only works for an adult who is directing care for him/herself. This won't work if you want us to leave your sick grandma alone. If she can't tell us that and work with us then she is going to the hospital. If you try to interfere with that then you'll be in handcuffs and looking at a felony charge (that'll be the case in NYS). Don't try to keep us from treating your sick child (not talking about flu or a boo boo). If you child is in septic shock and need immediate care we will treat them even if you don't believe in modern medicine etc. In most states the state can take custody of your child to provide emergency treatment. Those are unnecessary hassel. So work with us and we'll take good care of you. You are not wasting our time. Most of us get paid for responding to your accident, home etc.
Can a town ambulance/paramedic refuse to take a person to the hospital?
You have all sorts of legal rights. You can ask for an administrative review of the EMT procedures and whether they were properly followed that day; you can ask the EMT management to explain why a person with those injuries would ever NOT be transported; you can inform their own insurance company of the situation that created a GIGANTIC LEGAL EXPOSURE to the ambulance company; etc. I have worked on many cases where a person/victim seemed relatively okay at the scene of an accident, was transported for "peace of mind" and suddenly died in the ambulance or soon after arrival at the hospital. I would prefer NOT to be the guy who made a medical determination in the field, absent all the relevant facts, to let your son go anywhere BUT to the hospital. EMTS do not generally have the legal authority to withhold care (or at least transport to care) absent management involvement. They can certainly be sued for negligent care once they were called, assuming their negligence resulted in exacerbating or additional injuries.
Do police officers always make a report when they get a call?
Every department has different guidelines, but we did not make a written report on the majority of our calls. Upon going back in service we would enter a status in the computer - a 10 code that indicated the action taken. [FYI: My info is dated as I retired in 1990]The most common were:10-61: gone on arrival / not found10-63: Complete - no report made10-65: Complete - report made10-66: Complete - arrest made10-67: Complete - citation issuedEach call also had a case number assigned to it and if we generated a report it used that case number. Arrests, victim reports (theft, burglary, assault, etc) - all of course had reports. Suspicious person/vehicle, domestics, routine 'disturbance' type calls - typically did not (unless there was an arrest, damage or something transpired where we needed to document the who/what/where).In addition to the formal reports, which were public record, we could also complete field activity reports - a one page written form that was sent to CID (detectives). This was typically used for suspicious activity, though few used it. When I retired (1990), while we had been using computer terminals in the cars for many years, all of our reports/citations were still done 'manually'. Now with many departments utilizing laptops/computers to complete their reports, I imagine and hope they document most everything - at least the who/what/where info.While the case reports are public record and one could access them by going to the record room, completing a form and paying a photo-copying fee - accessing the dispatch/call log data probably requires a court order - though that is just a guess. That information could be a lot more interesting and considering the potential privacy issues, I would hope there are some strict guidelines on it's access and release.
How does an ambulance decide to which hospital an accident victim goes?
Here is the general set of rules:1. If you need some sort of speciality care (trauma, burn, stroke, pediatrics, maternity), we will take you there if it is close enough. In these situations, it doesn't really matter what YOU want. If not close enough, you either be flown there by helicopter or will be taken to the closest hospital, stabilized if possible, and transferred later on in another ambulance.2. If you are about to die, we will probably take you to the CLOSEST hospital. Rules #1 and #2 differ between systems, for example, if you're shot in the chest, taking you to a community hospital is kind of a waste of time-you need a trauma center even if it is further because that is where the surgeons are, but that is the rule some places. 3. If rule #1 and 2 doesn't apply, we will take you where you want to go, within reason. In NYC, the rule is we can take you to any 911-receiving hospital (not all hospitals take emergency ambulances, and some, like the VA, require that you meet special criteria) within 10 minutes of the closest 911-receiving hospital. That rule is subject to a lot of interpretation by the medics- 10 minutes on a Sunday morning is a LOT different than 10 minutes on a Friday evening at 5 pm. It pays to be nice & polite.4. If #1, 2, & 3 don't apply, by default, the rules usually say that we should bring you to the closest hospital. But good medics exercise common sense and will take you to the closest appropriate hospital- I've worked a lot of places where each hospital was good for some things and bad for other things, and I would try to match your problem to the hospital. Scot