Paramedics would be allowed to carry a gun when responding to hostage standoffs and mass shootings under a bill supported by Broward County law enforcement agencies.
The proposal (HB 487) advancing in the Florida Legislature would authorize trained paramedics and physicians attached to a SWAT team to carry a firearm during operations for defensive purposes only.
It would grant medical professionals the same immunity and privileges as law enforcement officers, which include the ability to carry a gun into a school zone and greater authority to use deadly force.
“This to me is a no-brainer bill,” said Greg Lees, a captain with the Broward Sheriff’s Office. “It provides the ability for people providing aid to us and the citizens to protect themselves.”
Fort Lauderdale Capt. Steve Greenlaw, a SWAT commander, told lawmakers medics would be required to undergo the same firearms training as law enforcement officers and would carry guns only for high-risk incidents.
State Sen. Ed Hooper, R-Clearwater, cited recent mass shootings as a reason why the bill needs to be approved. He is sponsoring a similar measure (SB 722) in the Senate.
“This bill comes from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, a bank in Sebring, the Fort Lauderdale airport, where mass tragedies have occurred and those medics are usually standing right behind the officer they are assigned to,” he said. “And they are there with every drug that could keep you alive if they survive without having anything to defend themselves.”
South Florida agencies have different approaches on arming medics attached to SWAT teams.
SWAT medics with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office carry guns, said agency spokeswoman Teri Barbera. The medics are sworn deputies who go through the police academy.
The Broward Sheriff’s Office allows medics to carry guns in limited circumstances based off a legal opinion, Lees said.
He said the bill would clarify the state law and make it easier for other jurisdictions to have armed medics.
Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Rick Maglione said he doesn’t want to seek a legal opinion to arm SWAT medics, and requiring them to attend the police academy would impose unnecessary training.
“We don’t need them to do traffic stops and write reports on stolen bicycles,” he said.
The bill would expressly authorize agencies to have armed medics for hostage incidents, narcotics raids, hazardous surveillance, sniper incidents, armed suicidal persons, barricaded suspects, high-risk felony warrant service, fugitives refusing to surrender, and active shooter incidents.
This measure is getting bipartisan support unlike other gun-related proposals, such as a measure that would allow teachers to carry guns if they undergo training.
State Rep. Michael Gottlieb, D-Davie, is a co-sponsor of the bill that would authorize arming paramedics.
“As a criminal defense lawyer and state rep, I think it’s a good law,” he said.
The bill is also supported by the Broward County Chiefs of Police Association, the city of Parkland, the city of Plantation, the Fraternal Order of Police, the Florida Sheriffs Association, Florida Fire Chiefs Association, the Coral Springs-Parkland Fire Department and the Florida College of Emergency Physicians.
sswisher@sunsentinel.com, 561-243-6634 or @SkylerSwisher