My heart breaks over the recent loss of two South Simcoe Police officers, now an RCMP officer in BC and their fellow officers, families and friends. The issue of our first responders' personal safety has always held my undivided attention. Fellow EMS supervisors and I spent untold hours responding with paramedics to assist and add an element of security to a scene that was either reported as a potential hazard or your gut just told you something was off. Call details often sounded innocent, but the location or past experience with similar calls piqued your curiosity and had you travelling to the scene on autopilot. Sadly, police resources have been stretched thin over the years, now reserved for the most challenging situations.
“Old school” medics used to pride themselves in their ability to detect and avoid confrontations and danger to protect their personal safety. Call it situational awareness. There are several terms to describe a skill that outsiders would dismiss as pride or ego. Our fellow responders’ at police and fire each rely on their version of similar expertise. That rudimentary strength gets you home safely at the end of a shift. Don’t believe me? Ask a first responder.
Over the years, front-line professionals build on that wisdom, share experiences and silently hope that nothing terrible ever happens. As they serve the public, their problems may suddenly become yours when summoned to assist in an actual or perceived emergency. Many emergency workers can recount situations risking their personal safety during efforts to help. Sometimes, a responder’s first contact with someone requires them to go into defensive mode before ever helping a victim. Yes, there are heroes, but personal safety comes first.
Police, firefighters and paramedics will forever become entangled in dangerous physical encounters: detaining criminals, working at fire scenes and treating patients. Sometimes our professional boundaries blur when we work collaboratively on a call. Despite having the training, excellent dispatch information and instinct, responders come face to face with trouble. We walk toward the problem, each service having distinct responsibilities. That’s the job. The line is drawn when human behaviour is the source of that danger.
Many causes buried in the roots of human nature develop into harmful behaviour resulting in the call for emergency services. Crime and violence are themes that draw out professionals arriving with lights and sirens prepared to use their skills to serve the public. I will leave the discussion around the motivation of the individuals that responders encounter to the schooled clinical psychologists and criminologists. Nope, not opening that can of worms.
A common source of physical risk to responders today repeatedly emerges, addressing the increasing call load for mental health patients. Helping people experiencing a mental health crisis is unlike any other predicament. So many times, it is not a simple task to support the victim. Substance abuse, homelessness and physical ailments surfacing when someone cannot care for themselves often compound the original mental health illness, resulting in desperation demonstrated through physical violence. Seldom do responders know the full extent of the hazards in these situations until they come face to face with the individual. There are times when that is too late.
The next time you hear the public complaining about a long wait in our emergency rooms, that the police and paramedics are taking too long, or that the firefighters should have put the fire out sooner, take a moment to stop and think. The emergency services and our healthcare system are under a terrible strain that is not letting up.
When you see responders sitting at a scene before entering, you may be tempted to criticize their actions; but these delays are rarely without good reason. They may be waiting for allied responders or updated information on their radio before entering. The public understandably does not know their policies or procedures.
It will take time for the details of the tragedies that unfolded in South Simcoe and British Columbia to be revealed. Please do not overlook the families of the victims neutralized by the police. They are experiencing grief and a sense of loss, in addition to the implied burden they shoulder for the incident. These people are victimized twice.
Responders from all fields are under a microscope during and after each incident. Emergency workers, dispatchers and our healthcare professionals will forever be caught between a rock and a hard place. Public opinion has a way of doing that. Support them, become one, or wait until they arrive to help you and yours.