By Kendrick Calfee
The Kansas City Star
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A paramedic was injured while transporting a patient to a hospital Friday morning, according to the Kansas City Fire Department.
Just before 10 a.m., officers with the Kansas City Police Department responded with firefighters to a “crew emergency,” said Riley Nolan, a fire department spokesman.
An altercation allegedly took place between the paramedic and a patient in the back of an ambulance, Nolan said.
The fire department did not say what led to the altercation.
Officers met with paramedics in the 2900 block of Broadway Boulevard in regard to a “combative patient,” said Sgt. Phil DiMartino, a police spokesman.
After the crew emergency was called, a second ambulance arrived at the scene to take the patient to a hospital for their original ailment, Nolan said.
The paramedic was then transported to a hospital where they were recovering from minor injuries.
The fire department did not say whether the patient was also injured in the alleged altercation.
A person was later taken into custody by KCPD officers, DiMartino said. An investigation is ongoing.
Second paramedic hurt in ambulance this year
The altercation marks the second known incident this year where a firefighter-paramedic was hurt while transporting a patient.
On April 27, Graham Hoffman, 29, died after he was stabbed in an ambulance by a patient he was transporting.
Hoffman was sent on a routine call to the area of North Oak Traffickway and MO-152 around 1 a.m. Hoffman was on the way to the hospital when he was stabbed in the heart by the person he was transporting, a fire department spokesman said.
His partner then called for police and extra medical help. Crews worked to save his life on the way to North Kansas City Hospital. He was taken into surgery, and later died in the intensive care unit.
Paramedics and de-escalation tactics
Nolan said that in light of harm coming to paramedics, the fire department, along with local union representatives, are looking at deescalation and self-defense training for employees.
They are also evaluating policies and procedures in regard to the safety of all fire department employees, he said.
Nolan said a “crew emergency” like Friday’s altercation can be called for anything from a small incident to a large situation.
“This can be anything from assistance with restraining a patient for the patient’s own safety to a crew member being threatened or attacked,” Nolan said.
A crew emergency is called over the radio and dispatches more first responders, a Battalion Chief and police to the scene, Nolan said.
According to Nolan, there was no indication Friday that any policies or procedures were not followed during the altercation.
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