The convictions of the two paramedics shook the world of emergency workers who have typically been shielded from criminal prosecution — and it forced questions about the dynamic between the police and paramedics at a scene.

Though Mr. McClain was visibly distressed and in handcuffs, paramedics never spoke to him, touched him or checked his vital signs before diagnosing him with excited delirium, a controversial condition characterized by agitation and exceptional physical strength. Paramedics then injected him with what authorities later said was a dose of ketamine inappropriate for Mr. McClain’s body weight.

  • FaceDeer@kbin.social
    3·
    8 months ago

    The case was a rare criminal prosecution of emergency medical personnel, and stirred outrage among paramedics and firefighters across the nation who worry that urgent decisions made as part of their jobs can be criminalized.

    Maybe don’t ignore the Hippocratic Oath and commit basic blatant malpractice at the behest of the police and you won’t have to worry about that so much.