Law Enforcement / Medic

NysEms2117

ex-Parole officer/EMT
1,946
909
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It's been a few years since I looked but all of the BORSTAR medical teams were only on the US/Mexico border, but they were piloting a air rescue unit out of Buffalo, NY.
If im not mistaken, and i very well may be, because buffalo is quite a ways from me. The NYS NAT'L guard, is trying to branch to help with civilian stuff(flights ect). I also think that "Sector Buffalo" of the USCG, is taking medical/LE flights for that region now, I know Maritime Enforcement guys, usually fly with the Rescue Divers/swimmer/medic to supply the "firepower".
 

EMDispatch

IAED EMD-Q/EMT
395
33
28
If im not mistaken, and i very well may be, because buffalo is quite a ways from me. The NYS NAT'L guard, is trying to branch to help with civilian stuff(flights ect). I also think that "Sector Buffalo" of the USCG, is taking medical/LE flights for that region now, I know Maritime Enforcement guys, usually fly with the Rescue Divers/swimmer/medic to supply the "firepower".

Makes sense I've been out of the Erie, PA area for over 5 years now. A lot of the BORSTAR mission doesn't really mesh with the northern border, at least not the northeast.
 

CANMAN

Forum Asst. Chief
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63
MSP ain't all it is cracked up to be, got the teeshirt and I am glad I switched to private HEMS for many reasons. About 3 years after I quit they put one into the ground and my buddy who was a Trooper Medic got killed, along with 2 other crew and a patient. What they did after the crash made me realize I made the right choice by leaving and going civilian HEMS. You really have to assess what you want to do, because very few places do both LE and EMS work well. The MSP medics are MD Paramedics with RSI, that is all. Now with almost every jurisdiction in MD having paid ALS the work is often done when they get there and they are a transport vehicle. In my opinion they are over utilized and do not provide a higher level of care then the regular EMS units, meanwhile higher level of care private HEMS aircraft are often closer and not utilized due to the monopoly MSP has on scene missions. They do some LE work, and even fewer hoist missions. Some of the guys moonlight as STATE team medics as well (MSP's swat team).

As far as BORDSTAR goes, I believe you have to be bilingual to work for them because I looked into it at one time. I may be wrong about that.

I would decide what you're interested in MORE, Law enforcement, or medicine, and then let me know and I could give you some potentially better options.
 
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VentMonkey

Family Guy
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MSP ain't all it is cracked up to be, got the teeshirt and I am glad I switched to private HEMS for many reasons. About 3 years after I quit they put one into the ground and my buddy who was a Trooper Medic got killed, along with 2 other crew and a patient. What they did after the crash made me realize I made the right choice by leaving and going civilian HEMS. You really have to assess what you want to do, because very few places do both LE and EMS work well. The MSP medics are MD Paramedics with RSI, that is all. Now with almost every jurisdiction in MD having paid ALS the work is often done when they get there and they are a transport vehicle. In my opinion they are over utilized and do not provide a higher level of care then the regular EMS units, meanwhile higher level of care private HEMS aircraft are often closer and not utilized due to the monopoly MSP has on scene missions. They do some LE work, and even fewer hoist missions. Some of the guys moonlight as STATE team medics as well (MSP's swat team).
This is the impression I had from what I have seen only, no first hand experience; and sorry to hear about your buddy.
As far as BORDSTAR goes, I believe you have to be bilingual to work for them because I looked into it at one time. I may be wrong about that.
On the southern end of the country this is in fact true, and goes for all of their border patrol agents in this sector. In fact, last I checked they actually had a written test of sorts they put you through.
 

CALEMT

The Other Guy/ Paramaybe?
4,524
3,348
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As far as BORDSTAR goes, I believe you have to be bilingual to work for them because I looked into it at one time. I may be wrong about that.

No you're right. If you're a native Spanish speaker you take a test to prove that you are. If you're not then you'll take classes during the academy(?) training(?) for field agent.
 

NysEms2117

ex-Parole officer/EMT
1,946
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I just found this extremely funny and found the meme
e17accf89720655f974898b797ed1e32.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

MPTOP

Forum Ride Along
3
0
1
I know this was posted several months ago, but just saw it. Davis County Sheriff's Office in Utah, just north of Salt Lake City, runs Paramedic Deputies. All deputies, with the exception of the civil and jail division, are Paramedics. They respond to law enforcement calls in the unincorporated county areas, and run ALS response with the various city ambulances throughout the county. Last I heard they are hurting big time for people. If you're already paramedic certified, they will put you through the Academy. Something to consider
 

NysEms2117

ex-Parole officer/EMT
1,946
909
113
I know this was posted several months ago, but just saw it. Davis County Sheriff's Office in Utah, just north of Salt Lake City, runs Paramedic Deputies. All deputies, with the exception of the civil and jail division, are Paramedics. They respond to law enforcement calls in the unincorporated county areas, and run ALS response with the various city ambulances throughout the county. Last I heard they are hurting big time for people. If you're already paramedic certified, they will put you through the Academy. Something to consider
Do they wear both hats at the same time? Or do they do LEO work for 1/2 the shift, and get rid of their firearms/tasers/batons/handcuffs/OC spray and become medics for the other half?
 

SAREMT

Forum Probie
24
3
3
California Highway Patrol utilizes paramedic/LEO's on some of their helicopters as flight officers. I know a guy who was a paramedic flight officer for many years. He saw ALOT of good trauma at the off road vehicle parks, and they worked with us alot on rescues in the backcountry. They will also allow you to work a part time EMS job. I know of another chippy/flight medic who does that.
 

Agg04

Forum Probie
19
2
3
being a swat medic is a dream of mine. to be realistic, I know its rare though. Good luck man! Hope you find something.
 

chrls

Forum Crew Member
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18
California Highway Patrol utilizes paramedic/LEO's on some of their helicopters as flight officers. I know a guy who was a paramedic flight officer for many years. He saw ALOT of good trauma at the off road vehicle parks, and they worked with us alot on rescues in the backcountry. They will also allow you to work a part time EMS job. I know of another chippy/flight medic who does that.

I do exactly this. All but one of our 8 air units across the state are what we call "Regional Programs" where we do the normal airborne law enforcement stuff as well as SAR/Medevac. Our one unit that doesn't do the SAR/medevac is in the Los Angeles area and are referred to as a Metro Program.

Anybody who works on our helicopters/airplanes as either a pilot or flight officer is a police officer with us first and remains one while working in an air unit. While we are all still police officers the nature of our job removes us from the day to day of responding to calls, writing tickets, arresting people, most report writing, and the like so it depends on what you want out of your job.

I also work part time as a medic for my local 911 service.

It's a good job as long as you can get through our hiring process, academy, and a few years as a road officer before being able to apply for a spot flying.

If anybody has questions about what we do feel free to message me/reply here if it's related.
 

jeffro1904

Forum Ride Along
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4
3
randomly came across the thread...

I'm a BP K9/EMT so I could shed light on all the border patrol talk.

If you are interested in BORSTAR you need to complete your probationary period first. Basically that means you will pass the academy and push traffic at your assigned station first. I believe it changed from 2 years to just 1 year but don't quote me as that changed since I got in. Then you will have to wait for the BORSTAR "academy" to open up, which is typically once a year, and TRY OUT. Good luck! I hope you are part fish because they hit the pool, ocean and "fast water" hard.

BORSTAR is getting more and more EMT-P level agents and they have at least one agent with BORTAC for their ops. If you want to lean toward the tactical side, I'd suggest BORTAC with previously established medical background. Either team will maintain your EMS cert. BORSTAR works more routine field traffic and can be supplemental aircrew members that are dropped at the scene of rural med/trauma event. They also have multi purpose, human remain detection (HRD) K9 teams.

If anyone has anymore questions, not wall/ Trumpty dump related, I'll do my best to answer.
 

NysEms2117

ex-Parole officer/EMT
1,946
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@jeffro1904 Since your already inside "federal agent land", hopefully you can answer this better then i can since im only state atm. How would previous experiences in other federal agencies laterally transfer- IE DEA FAST team, FBI HRT, US marshals FGTF, all of which have members that are medically trained. **I am not nor have i ever been on any of the aforementioned teams** However, I am with NYS "specialty teams".
 

CanadianBagel

Forum Crew Member
40
3
8
The LASD and NYPD both have full time SWAT Medics. The LASD has medical helicopters, and the NYPD has a couple of ambulances. Tulsa PD has quite a few police medics too. Dallas PD has at least three reservists who are physicians and I know two work SWAT.
I personally would love to just be a full time medic and a reserve police officer, serving as a sworn SWAT medic. Pretty much all SWAT Medics in Florida and Arizona are full time medics who become reserve police officers. It’s a much better idea than having unarmed, non sworn medics on SWAT, in my humble opinion. I would probably give up a winning lottery ticket for that guys job, tbh. I REALLY want to be a Tactical medic.
Here’s a video of one, if anyone is interested!
https://www.clickorlando.com/video/brevard-firefighter-doubles-as-swat-paramedic
 

06Unltd

Forum Ride Along
2
1
3
MSP ain't all it is cracked up to be, got the teeshirt and I am glad I switched to private HEMS for many reasons. About 3 years after I quit they put one into the ground and my buddy who was a Trooper Medic got killed, along with 2 other crew and a patient. What they did after the crash made me realize I made the right choice by leaving and going civilian HEMS. You really have to assess what you want to do, because very few places do both LE and EMS work well. The MSP medics are MD Paramedics with RSI, that is all. Now with almost every jurisdiction in MD having paid ALS the work is often done when they get there and they are a transport vehicle. In my opinion they are over utilized and do not provide a higher level of care then the regular EMS units, meanwhile higher level of care private HEMS aircraft are often closer and not utilized due to the monopoly MSP has on scene missions. They do some LE work, and even fewer hoist missions. Some of the guys moonlight as STATE team medics as well (MSP's swat team).

As far as BORDSTAR goes, I believe you have to be bilingual to work for them because I looked into it at one time. I may be wrong about that.

I would decide what you're interested in MORE, Law enforcement, or medicine, and then let me know and I could give you some potentially better options.

I wanted to update this to anyone who may be looking at MSP.

Currently, MSP flies the Augusta Westland 139. Its a phenomenal ship. Maryland State currently has 12 AW-139's staged at 8 locations throughout the state. Each shift per helo has 2 fully trained pilots (including low visability operations, which the previous pilot did not have). The pilots are pilots only.

Each Helo also has 2 trooper medics per shift. These are fully trained MSP trooper paramedics. They can respond anywhere in the state from hanger to scene in under 20 minutes. They also mutual aid to Pa, Wv and Del.

The helos do law enforcement when requested/as needed to local jurisdictions. The fly a ton of HEMS. There is no charge to the patient for HEMS flights as their funding comes from automobile registrations and renewals. When not flying, trooper medics are performing law enforcement duties from marked and unmarked cruisers (inclimate weather).

Hoist operations are conducted on a regular basis whether it be the mountains to the west or plucking someone from the water in Great Falls or the Chesapeake Bay.

MSP desperately needs trooper medics. The hangup is you have to attend their police academy which is a lot like Marine Corps boot camp. You have to live at the training academy and get good grades. I think the academy lasts 6 months. Drug testing is frequent throughout the academy as well.

If I was younger, and could do it all over again, I would jump at the chance. MSP's Aviation unit is the best in the country.
 

Jim37F

Forum Deputy Chief
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Sounds fairly impressive. In an alternate universe where I didnt move to Honolulu fir Fire, I had a budding interest in Law Enforcement...I could see myself moving to Maryland to try out for that (I was starting to get tired of California lol)
 

CANMAN

Forum Asst. Chief
805
425
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I wanted to update this to anyone who may be looking at MSP.

Currently, MSP flies the Augusta Westland 139. Its a phenomenal ship. Maryland State currently has 12 AW-139's staged at 8 locations throughout the state. Each shift per helo has 2 fully trained pilots (including low visability operations, which the previous pilot did not have). The pilots are pilots only.

Each Helo also has 2 trooper medics per shift. These are fully trained MSP trooper paramedics. They can respond anywhere in the state from hanger to scene in under 20 minutes. They also mutual aid to Pa, Wv and Del.

The helos do law enforcement when requested/as needed to local jurisdictions. The fly a ton of HEMS. There is no charge to the patient for HEMS flights as their funding comes from automobile registrations and renewals. When not flying, trooper medics are performing law enforcement duties from marked and unmarked cruisers (inclimate weather).

Hoist operations are conducted on a regular basis whether it be the mountains to the west or plucking someone from the water in Great Falls or the Chesapeake Bay.

MSP desperately needs trooper medics. The hangup is you have to attend their police academy which is a lot like Marine Corps boot camp. You have to live at the training academy and get good grades. I think the academy lasts 6 months. Drug testing is frequent throughout the academy as well.

If I was younger, and could do it all over again, I would jump at the chance. MSP's Aviation unit is the best in the country.

No offense man but get the MSP weaner out of your mouth, they are FAR from the best in the country.... I can actually name 10 HEMS programs right now which put them to shame in capabilities, and most importantly best patient care delivery, leaving the LE factor out of it. I'm assuming you live in MD as most of your information is correct, but some is not. Bottom line is the same wacker firefighter's that like to jerk off to how big MSP's aircraft are will later complain about how much taxes they're paying outta their paycheck. There is alot of behind the scenes cost that ARE NOT covered by the tag renewal fee's that you clearly are unaware of. What they did AFTER the crash said alot about their safety program. They went out and bought Ferrari's when Toyota Camry's would have allowed them to complete all their missions with brand new aircraft and an increased safety margin, at a MASSIVE cost to the taxpayer's. Coupled with the fact they had no intention of upgrading to dual pilots, and actually filed for a wavier which the FAA turned down was the reason they went dual pilot post crash. That cost wasn't factored into the equation, and guess what we paid for that as well. They are far from the best service or anything close to cutting edge in HEMS now a days and there are plenty of times where they will dispatch an MSP aircraft that is 30+ minutes away vs. using a closer private service aircraft which isn't doing whats best for the patient if they truly need a HEMS flight. They provide MD Paramedic level care only with RSI component and do less then 50 hoist missions a year total throughout the entire program which equates to less than 5 per year per base, because most are out of Trooper 3 in Frederick. The worst part about alot of the current people is they actually think they're the absolute best, and don't know what they don't know. They have some of the cockiest provider's (with alot of the newer folk being very light in prior field time before MSP) with piss poor customer service interactions with the ground provider's they serve, and the "we are the best" mentality is bred from day 1 in the academy.

I had the privilege of training one of their people who has been in the division for a long time and had seen all the changes over the years. I say privilege because he wasn't programmed like the rest of them and was eager to learn and just a stand up guy all around. He came to work for my previous service looking to expand his knowledge and setup a part time gig that could become full time when he was due to retire in a few years. Initially his lack of knowledge for management of anything other then trauma scene runs was significant. He was humble and honest about what he lacked in, and worked hard to complete orientation and went on to graduate and is currently still flying part-time with that program. During our time he made it very apparent as someone who has been around a long time that the program isn't headed in the right direction and there's a ton of cost that the MD taxpayer's never hear about.

If I had a dollar for every MD wacker who drooled at MSP aviation I could have retired by now. There's a reason they are desperately in need of medics and pilots. It's not all rainbows and butterflies and just highlights the fact that most people are distracted by shiny paint schemes and perceived superiority vs. the things that really matter.
 
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