In 1999, I wrote a letter to the editor of the Hartford Courant about a police shooting in the city. The newspaper reported that an unarmed 14-year old black boy had been shot in the back by a white police officer. They put the story on the front page under the headline Family, Police Want Answers: No Weapon…
Month: June 2020
Harm Reduction
Connecticut’s harm reduction workers are out on the street everyday trying to make the world safer for those caught in substance use. This is particularly important in this time of COVID-19. I am often questioned whether or not harm reduction – syringe services, community naloxone, overdose prevention sites, drop-in centers– are not just enabling users….
A Complaint
I was accused of being racist. This was about fifteen years ago. At the time my main assignment was working as a contract paramedic for a volunteer service in Bloomfield, a volunteer town to the north of Hartford that like Hartford had a predominantly black population. I was working that day with a black partner/friend…
Kevin Andrews
With all that is going on these days, I thought of Kevin Andrews, one of my first partners in EMS. I first posted this in January of 2011. *** In EMS, we cannot help but be shaped by our earliest partners. They are the ones who show us the way. I was lucky in that…
Wild
Many years ago, I watched a long video of a police scene in California, where a man who was reported to be on “angel dust” (PCP), was being held down by police officers. The officers chatted among themselves while the camera focused in on the man who was pleading for help. I watched as the…
I Can’t Breathe
I have heard many people say “I can’t breathe.” Sometimes the people are full of it, other times they are dying. I have also heard the response line, “You’re talking fine.” I’ve heard EMS say it and I’ve heard police say it. On May 25, 2020 , George Floyd said to officer Derek Chauvin, I…