CONTOMS

Mission

Law enforcement remains a dangerous occupation. A total of 1,512 law enforcement officers died in the line of duty during the past 10 years, an average of one death every 63 hours or 146 per year. There were 128 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty in 2017. On average, over the last decade, there have been 58,930 assaults against law enforcement each year, resulting in 15,404 injuries. Our own data suggests that SWAT Team members are at high risk for injury, sustaining a casualty rate as high as 9 per 1000 officer-missions. Law enforcement and the military services have long recognized that medical support of special operations can enhance the probability of mission success. This type of support requires a unique, additional expertise, which is complementary to the basic qualifications of prehospital health care providers. Community emergency medical services (EMS) systems in the United States and abroad were developed to respond to the needs of individual patients in controlled situations. However, in some locales, emergency medical technicians trained for the EMS role have been pressed into service to support counter terrorism, drug interdiction and other law enforcement activities without any additional training. These activities have become increasingly specialized in nature, characterized by prolonged operations, organized opposing forces, use of military-type weapons, and increasing death and injury among law enforcement officers, perpetrators and innocent citizens.