Bill Would Add Penalties for Assaults on Md. EMS Providers
Feb. 06--CUMBERLAND -- Firefighters and paramedics already face danger on the job and a new bill introduced in the General Assembly is designed to protect them from another danger -- the possibility of being assaulted. House Bill 236 would toughen penalties and make assaults on firefighters and emergency medical personnel a felony. A companion bill has also been introduced in the Senate. Maryland law already includes enhanced penalties for assaults against police officers.
"We have the issue at work more on the ambulance. When we have issues in the city we have the advantage of having the Cumberland City Police usually on scene to take care of any problems ... but every once in a while it does happen," said Ken McKenzie, the president of Cumberland's International Association of Firefighters Local 1715. Both the local and the state organization support the bill, McKenzie said.
The bill would also protect volunteers.
"The world that we live in is drastically changing and I certainly support any legislation that provides protection to our first responders," said Dick DeVore, the president of the Ellerslie Volunteer Fire Department and the director of the Allegany County Department of Emergency Services.
"Unfortunately, on the national level we have seen cases where violent offenders have made first responders targets. Our first responders are true community heroes and we should do everything in our power to protect them as they work to protect us," DeVore said. It isn't the first time for efforts to increase penalties for assaults on first responders, DeVore said.
"This bill was submitted, I believe last year also, and did not make it out of committee," DeVore said. Members of the Allegany/ Garrett Counties Volunteer Fire & Rescue Association were briefed on this session's bill at their last meeting by Johnie Roth, first vice president of the Maryland State Firemen's Association, DeVore said.
The nature of the work firefighters and other first responders do adds to the likelihood of things getting out of hand. McKenzie said that it is understandable that people have high emotions at fire and accident scenes, but that the potential for assault adds another level of danger to the job.
"When a firefighter or paramedic is on their job, they're not in a position to walk away (from a threatening person)," said Del. Jay Jalisi, the bill's lead sponsor in the House of Delegates. Jalisi said the bill was drafted at the request of the the IAFF and other organizations representing emergency responders. "We kept the level of the bill to include the same protections as that given to police officers."
The bill would make an assault against a first responder in the line of duty a felony, with a penalty of imprisonment up to 10 years and a fine of up to $5,000 or both. "We don't want to put people in jail, but we do want to protect our first reponders," Jalisi said.
Many states have enhanced penalties for assaults agains police and other emergency personnel, officials said.
Matthew Bieniek can be contacted at mbieniek@times-news.com.
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