BALTIMORE (AP) - Baltimore medics are asking to be equipped with protective vests, saying they fear their safety after recent attacks on responders.
Rick Hoffman, president of the local firefighters’ and EMS union, tells local media there have been 13 attacks on EMS workers over the past two years. This past weekend, a fire commander was shot while offering aid to a man.
Hoffman says he estimates the vests, to protect medics’ vital organs from gunshots and sharp objects, could be purchased for about $100,000.
He says medics often arrive at crime scenes before police.
Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh says she has no evidence to indicate an increase in attacks on medics in the city. She also says there are protocols in place that require medics not to put themselves in harm’s way.
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