Associated Press
ST. PAUL, Minn. — A Minnesota lawmaker says he plans to introduce a bill making it a felony to interfere with emergency medical workers.
Republican state Rep. Pat Garofalo of Farmington said Tuesday he plans to introduce the “Public Safety Personnel Protection Act” during next year’s legislative session.
Garofalo says incidents in Minnesota and elsewhere have resulted in people “interfering with public safety personnel trying to do their jobs.” He says interference could involve delaying ambulances or hampering treatment.
The announcement follows a police-involved shooting in north Minneapolis last month. Twenty-four-year-old Jamar Clark was fatally shot during what authorities said was a struggle with two officers after he interfered with paramedics trying to help an assault victim.
Garofalo says “local events were the tipping point” but not the full impetus for his forthcoming bill.