KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City Fire Department (KCFD) paramedic was injured Friday morning while transporting a patient, the fire department said.
Just before 10 a.m., KCFD said one of its paramedics received a minor injury after an altercation in the back of an ambulance while transporting a patient to the hospital on Broadway inside Penn Valley Park.
This led to a “crew emergency” being called; KCFD and the Kansas City Police Department responded.
A second ambulance arrived on scene to transport the original patient to the hospital for their initial complaint, KCFD said.
The fire department said the paramedic was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
KCFD also shared that no weapon was used in the incident, but did not specify on the nature of the attack. Regardless, KCFD Battalion Chief Riley Noland says the incident was concerning, especially after the death of KCFD paramedic Graham Hoffman just weeks ago.
“It is something that is of grave concern to all of us anytime that you feel you’re being attacked when you’re out there trying to help people makes for a very scary situation,” Chief Noland explained.
“It is something that is of grave concern to all of us anytime that you feel you’re being attacked when you’re out there trying to help people makes for a very scary situation.”
On Friday afternoon, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas released the following statement:
I am deeply concerned about this morning’s attack on one of our KCFD paramedics while providing emergency medical care. Emergency personnel should never have to fear for their safety while serving our community. I am grateful the paramedic’s injuries appear to be minor and wish them a swift recovery. I expect prosecution to the fullest extent of the law.
Less than two months ago, KCFD firefighter-paramedic Graham Hoffman was killed in the line of duty—after a patient he was transporting stabbed him to death.
His death and this most recent incident highlight an alarming trend of violence against health care workers nationwide. Read more about it here.
