AURORA | Aurora lawmakers on Monday indicated their approval for a pathway for paramedics attached to the police department’s SWAT team to become “reserve police officers,” which would provide them with training and some of the same legal protections available to full-time officers.
Pete Schulte of the City Attorney’s Office said SWAT medics have been known to carry concealed weapons on missions, and that the creation of the reserve officer position would result in those medics being trained and afforded the same protection from civil lawsuits as full-time police officers.
“If they’re on the SWAT team, and they’re armed, and they get into a use-of-force incident, I want to be able to protect the firefighters … and protect the city as well,” Schulte said.
He said applicants to become reserve officers would go through a hiring and background investigation process similar to the process undergone by lateral police recruits. Candidates will be expected to complete a training lasting about six weeks before they could receive their certification from the Peace Officer Standards and Training Board.
Councilmember Danielle Jurinsky brought the proposal forward Monday, saying it had been requested by police.
When asked by Councilmember Juan Marcano how the city would hold a reserve officer accountable for an allegation of violating someone’s civil rights, Schulte said the department hopes to carefully screen candidates and would treat a reserve officer who “goes crazy” the same as any other officer.
City spokesman Ryan Luby later wrote that either AFR or APD would investigate a reserve officer for misconduct depending on whether they were acting in their capacity as a paramedic or a reserve officer at the time.
Schulte said reserve officers generally only have the authority of a full-time officer when they’re acting under the supervision of a full-time officer and according to department policy.
Interim police chief Art Acevedo described the system as a “best practice” and said he supported offering the reserve role to SWAT medics.
“This is a model that’s worked across the country,” he said.
No council members opposed the item moving forward from Monday’s study session.
I worked with Reserve Officers and SWAT Medics for a decade. Both programs – when adequately and appropriately overseen – work quite well.
Interesting. Back when I was a kid, even the army medics made a big deal about NOT carrying weapons, and wearing emblems to indicate that they were healers, not killers. I believe reruns of a M*A*S*H episode focused on that very issue is available today. On the other hand, Pharmacist’s Mate Second Class Stanley Dabrowski recalled that during the battle of Iwo Jima, corpsmen were often singled out because they “looked different.” “We carried [medical kits] which I didn’t like at all because they marked us as corpsmen . . . because of this, we were told to carry side-arms not as offensive weapons but for self-protection.”
So are these guys really going to carry assault weapons with high capacity magazines? Are they really going to be up against Bushido warriors?
True “when adequately and appropriately overseen –”
I myself suggested a reserve officer program to back up APD.