BENNINGTON, Vt. — Bennington Rescue Squad paramedics are now wearing body-worn cameras on emergency calls, making the Vermont agency the first EMS service in the state to use the devices.
Department leaders told News 10 that the cameras are intended to improve safety and accountability for both emergency responders and the public.
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Body-worn cameras are common in law enforcement but remain rare in EMS. At Bennington Rescue Squad, providers put on the cameras before ambulances leave the bay, News 10 reported. Officials said assaults on paramedics were one reason for the change.
“In early January this year, we had a provider who went into the home to assist someone,” Bennington Rescue Squad Executive Director Bill Camarda said. “They lean down to try to assess them and are physically grabbed and tossed across a room.”
No one was injured in that incident, but officials said assaults on providers, including spitting, grabbing and punching, happen regularly.
“Knowing that we have these body cameras, that just if something does happen, it doesn’t become your word against theirs,” said Marley Blood, quality and patient safety captain at Bennington Rescue Squad. “You have a record of it, and it does, I think, deter some people from acting out aggressively, knowing that they’re being recorded.”
The cameras also help with quality review, allowing crews to examine call timelines, review decisions and identify what could be improved.
Officials said providers can turn cameras off when needed to protect patient privacy.
Do you think body-worn cameras have a place in EMS? Why or why not?
