Question for LEOs and First Responders

[Beemerguy53]

Sounds like the old west.

I don't know about the 'old west', but it was certainly like the 'wild west'. It was just insane. When I went to work every day I felt like I had landed on a different planet.

One evening, I was sitting in my office, on the second floor front of my firehouse, talking with my wife on the phone while I was getting some paperwork done. From less than a block away I heard three shots fired: 'pop-pop-pop'...followed immediately by three much larger reports: 'BOOM-BOOM-BOOM'. I ended our conversation, slid the pole to the apparatus floor, and got on the fire engine. Less than a minute later, we were dispatched along with a medic unit for a shooting.

The guy with the rimfire connected: our victim had a trench across the bridge of his nose that you could have laid a .22 caliber bullet into. It passed right in front of him, just skimming his nose. That was the only injury.

Mother's Day, 2003, middle of the afternoon, we had a 22 year old with six 9mm bullets in the center of his chest. (We knew the caliber because the shell casings were all over the street.) We started CPR, helped the medics when they got there, and accompanied them to the Maryland Shock-Trauma Center downtown where, despite a valiant effort, the patient died.

When we returned to the scene to see if the police were ready to have us wash down the blood, we learned that the shooter was a 15 year old who was already wanted for another homicide...

This year so far in Baltimore, there have been more than 200 homicides, the vast majority of them shootings. There are also hundreds of other non-fatal shootings in Baltimore every year, this in a city of only 600,000.

I grew up in Baltimore, but can't stand to go there now. It's off the hook, and not getting any better...breaks my heart to have to say that, but it is what it is...

 

[GaryS]

In an evidence preservation course put on by the PD for us several years ago, the detective advised against unloading any firearms we came across. Since the ammunition and magazines might have DNA or fingerprint evidence on them, we ran the risk of contaminating that or injecting ourselves deeper into the chain of custody. On top of that, most EMS providers, at least in my area, are not familiar with guns. Manipulating the controls of a firearm in a close area (inside an ambulance) when you are not familiar with firearms in general or the specific firearm runs the risk of an ND and someone getting injured.

My recommendation if the police are not available is to put the firearm in a sealable envelope, date and sign across the seal, and notify dispatch that you need the PD to secure an item. Then, write an incident detailing the circumstances and the name or ID number of the officer to whom you turned the firearm over.

Depending on where you are in the country, this might be a big deal or it might be routine. Where I worked and live, it would be more of a big deal than say in most southern states.

 

[tlay]

At an accident scene if we found a weapon on a patient we would let any officer take care of it. Luckily we were a volunteer outfit and we had a couple of county cops with us. We also had a city cop. If the patient was conscious we would notify the officer and if a relative was around he would let them take it.

 

[S&W45Colt]

I don't know about the 'old west', but it was certainly like the 'wild west'. It was just insane. When I went to work every day I felt like I had landed on a different planet.

One evening, I was sitting in my office, on the second floor front of my firehouse, talking with my wife on the phone while I was getting some paperwork done. From less than a block away I heard three shots fired: 'pop-pop-pop'...followed immediately by three much larger reports: 'BOOM-BOOM-BOOM'. I ended our conversation, slid the pole to the apparatus floor, and got on the fire engine. Less than a minute later, we were dispatched along with a medic unit for a shooting.

The guy with the rimfire connected: our victim had a trench across the bridge of his nose that you could have laid a .22 caliber bullet into. It passed right in front of him, just skimming his nose. That was the only injury.

Mother's Day, 2003, middle of the afternoon, we had a 22 year old with six 9mm bullets in the center of his chest. (We knew the caliber because the shell casings were all over the street.) We started CPR, helped the medics when they got there, and accompanied them to the Maryland Shock-Trauma Center downtown where, despite a valiant effort, the patient died.

When we returned to the scene to see if the police were ready to have us wash down the blood, we learned that the shooter was a 15 year old who was already wanted for another homicide...

This year so far in Baltimore, there have been more than 200 homicides, the vast majority of them shootings. There are also hundreds of other non-fatal shootings in Baltimore every year, this in a city of only 600,000.

I grew up in Baltimore, but can't stand to go there now. It's off the hook, and not getting any better...breaks my heart to have to say that, but it is what it is...

I worked North Ave and the area around the ballpark a few years ago, after a natural disaster until they got things under control. The place is hole until you get 5 miles or better out of Bulletmore. I want no part of it again, if I can avoid it. There are few places that I've been more on edge in the U.S.

Off the top of my head, N.O. right after Katrina, Gary I.N. and East St. Louis are the only places I've worked that rank above it for making me feel like I might need to shoot someone at any minute.

 

[Lt JL]

We need a little historical context here. A lot of us coppers were on the Job when very few states had legal CCW. Having a gun on your person was illegal, ipso facto. Some of the stories we tell of the old days would be illegal now, but were actually required procedure then, and I'm talking right up to this century in many states.

 

[redneckemt]

You should make the trip to Fort Worth and listen to my presentation on dealing with armed patients at the Texas EMS Conference.

Lol wish I could way to far. Is it on youtube by chance?