Tactical medic teams

[cwtlady]

(Wasn't sure where to put this....)


I've never heard of Tactical medic teams before. Is this something all departments have in larger cities?


Tactical medic team ready for service | wisconsinrapidstribune.com | Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune

I think it's a good idea. I hope it works out well for those fortunate enough to have this emergency team.

[TXCharlie]

My current home town has a fully qualified medic on their SWAT team. Most of the time he works with other Medics at the fire department, but when SWAT is deployed he drops whatever he's doing and responds.

[lewisipso]

This is not unheard of at all. Some departments, however, have issues with tactical members not being full time employees or state certified law enforcement officers. Our is one such department. We have two full time deputies who are team members that are medic trained.

[HudsonHawk]

Yes, our SWAT team has members trained as paramedics. It can literally be a life saver for situations where the scene is not yet secure and a normal ambulance cannot help. The medical attention they give varies. For example we can put a tourniquet on another officer, but for liability reasons cannot do so for a civilian.

All of our officers have at least some medical training (although not all to EMT/Paramedic levels) and carry medical supplies in the cars. This is mostly to provide care as a first responder until an ambulance arrives on scene, but in an emergency situation you may be the only one there. I know a few officers who've assisted with births, CPR, etc...

[2525]

I used to work with a guy from South Africa who was on a full-time tactical medic team. They drove around in armoured vehicles and their job was to go into a combat zone to extract downed police officers. But, that's South Africa and a different kind of beast entirely.

[CTR man]

Is this the LE version of a Combat Medic or Corpsman?

[cwtlady]

Thank you all for helping civilians understand this better. I'm glad to see smaller departments are able to have teams available to them.

Nothing is more important than officer safety.

[K9brando]

We have a guy in our department that works more full time hours with EMS than the full time hours he puts in as lieutenant with our department. When our SWAT team (we called it an SRT Unit) was active, he was their combat medic. I call him a ditch doctor! Due to budget restraints, we no longer have an SRT Unit.

[CTR man]

We have a guy in our department that works more full time hours with EMS than the full time hours he puts in as lieutenant with our department. When our SWAT team (we called it an SRT Unit) was active, he was their combat medic. I call him a ditch doctor! Due to budget restraints, we no longer have an SRT Unit.

That is way cool that you guys have someone like this to come to your aid when a call tragically goes south or there is a hostage situation and someone gets injured. The only thing that concerns me is his down time, or lack of it. He must eat, drink, and sleep LE and EMS.

[Car 4]

I know of several departments who have actual E.R. Docs on the team. One of my good friends is a vet who handles the live animals used in the gunshot wound training used by the military and police. She works in Cal and in Virginia. She has a farm here and takes in the patrol horses when they retire. My grandkids and I feed them apples from time to time. I hear it is the best gunshot wound course in the world. She keeps the animals sedated so they feel nothing while they are shot. The team then tries to patch them up.

Sounds gruesome but I gues it is some serious training. She offered Maclean a spot in one of the classes....don't know if he is going to go or not.

Car 4

[CTR man]

I know of several departments who have actual E.R. Docs on the team. One of my good friends is a vet who handles the live animals used in the gunshot wound training used by the military and police. She works in Cal and in Virginia. She has a farm here and takes in the patrol horses when they retire. My grandkids and I feed them apples from time to time. I hear it is the best gunshot wound course in the world. She keeps the animals sedated so they feel nothing while they are shot. The team then tries to patch them up.

Sounds gruesome but I guess it is some serious training. She offered Maclean a spot in one of the classes....don't know if he is going to go or not.

Car 4

I'll bet she uses some heavy duty tranquilizers. I can't imagine what it feels like to be shot.

Good God, I hope that she doesn't have any problems with PETA. We all know that they will try to put their own spin on things and yet leave out this one important fact.

She keeps the animals sedated so they feel nothing while they are shot. The team then tries to patch them up.

[Car 4]

Good point.....I know they are a prime military contractor so they don't have much of a problem. Lots of special forces/seals/combat medics and cops who need this kind of training to save lives at the sharp end of the stick.


Car 4

[K9brando]

That is way cool that you guys have someone like this to come to your aid when a call tragically goes south or there is a hostage situation and someone gets injured. The only thing that concerns me is his down time, or lack of it. He must eat, drink, and sleep LE and EMS.

That is what we keep telling him because he also owns his own law enforcment supply store in our town and works that what little time he is off. He is also enrolled full time in college on line and does that as well. I keep telling him he is going to have a heart attack if he doesn't get some of these things off of his plate.