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ADAM"S COUNTY, Ill. The Adams County Sheriff's Department hopes to add a paramedic or emergency medical technician to its special response team.
Chief Deputy Fred Kientzle, the SRT's commander, asked the Adams County Ambulance Service's governing board Tuesday to consider assigning a paramedic or EMT to the eight-member unit. The person would receive special medical training and be dispatched to high-risk law enforcement situations as needed.
Kientzle said the paramedic/EMT would be trained to use firearms and be issued the same protective equipment as other SRT members. However, the medic's sole duty would be to provide medical care if a law enforcement officer, or bystander, were injured during a response.
The SRT has been in operation for a little more than a year. During its training sessions with other police agencies, SRT members learned that "a lot of these teams are putting a medic right on their team," Kientzle said. "So if a guy goes down, you've got a medic right there."
Full Story: Special response unit asks for EMT
