This is fucked up!
NBC5
This afternoon, the Dallas fire chief said the wounded paramedic was not wearing body armor and he didn’t have a vest with him in his vehicle.
Last summer, NBC 5 Investigates reported the Dallas Fire Department was stepping up plans to give more medics access to bulletproof vests after that deadly attack on Dallas police where a gunman killed five officers and injured nine others. The chaotic scene raised more concern about the safety of paramedics trying to help the wounded.
But today, those vests are only given to Dallas paramedics in limited situations.
The shooting ignited more questions about whether first responders like paramedics should wear body armor so they can quickly enter a shooting scene.
Since then, Dallas Fire Rescue has given medics access to about two dozen body armor kits for active shooter situations in coordination with police.
But at Monday’s press conference, the fire chief said those vests were not on board the rescue unit in Monday’s shooting.
“And we don’t carry the body armor on the actual rescue units. They are contained in the other response vehicles that come to the scenes,” said Chief David Coatney.
Some cities now require EMT’s to wear body armor every day.