7-350 - Emergency Medical Response

The purpose of this policy is to describe the roles and responsibilities of MPD members in MPD incidents involving a medical emergency.

MPD and its members shall uphold the sanctity of life (P&P 0-102) by striving to protect and preserve human life in all situations and keep the community and MPD members safe from harm.

In accordance with the sanctity of life, sworn members have a duty to provide appropriate medical treatment to those who need it (as described below).

Assess the Situation

Members arriving on scene or encountering an incident shall, as soon as reasonably practical, determine if anyone displays a visible injury or signs of medical distress, has lost consciousness, has complained of injury or medical distress, or has requested medical attention, and shall take actions as detailed below in this policy.

Gathering preliminary information may assist members or EMS in providing treatment. Members should relay pertinent information to MECC, which could include:

• The location and nature of the incident, including any scene hazards.
• Information about the person needing medical treatment such as signs, symptoms and behavior observed by the member, changes in the person’s apparent condition, whether the person is conscious or breathing and alert, and whether the person is believed to have consumed drugs or alcohol.

Acute Medical Crisis

MPD members shall request emergency medical services (EMS) as soon as practical if any member has come into contact with a person having an acute medical crisis (where any delay in treatment could potentially aggravate the severity of the medical crisis).

1. While awaiting EMS, MPD members assisting a person having an acute medical crisis shall provide any necessary first aid consistent with MPD training, as soon as practical. Members should use personal protective equipment (PPE) whenever necessary (P&P 3-509).
2. Naloxone (Narcan) shall be administered only in accordance P&P 7-348.

Other Requests for EMS

1. MPD members assisting people who are not in an acute medical crisis but may need medical attention shall offer EMS response and shall document the offer and answer in a Police Report, or if no report will be made, via added remarks in CAD.

2. If a person requests an EMS response, members shall request EMS as soon as practical, and shall document the requests in a Police Report, or if no report will be made, via added remarks in CAD.
3. In accordance with P&P 7-401, police vehicles should not be used to transport people who are not in custody but need physical medical attention, except when EMS is not available.

People Declining Physical Medical Attention

If a person who is not in custody declines physical medical treatment, members shall not force that person to receive treatment. See P&P 7-803 regarding transport holds.

Medical Courses of Action by Medical Personnel

MPD members shall not make any suggestions or requests regarding medical courses of action to be taken by any medical personnel. Determinations made by medical personnel regarding medical courses of action must be clearly made only by medical personnel.

1. MPD members shall provide medical personnel with any necessary information related to the person’s observed or known conditions and behaviors, to enable medical personnel to conduct a quick and accurate assessment and determine the best medical course of action.

2. MPD members shall provide medical personnel with the names of any MPD members who provided first aid or assisted with a person’s care, so notifications can be made of possible exposure to any pathogens discovered through further medical examination.
3. Responsibilities for medical care shall be transferred to EMS as soon as safe and feasible.
4. Members are prohibited from suggesting or directing sedation to anyone, for any reason, including any person who is acting agitated, disorganized, or behaving erratically.

Canceling EMS

MPD members responding to incidents where EMS has already been requested shall not cancel EMS unless the members determine that the call was unfounded, or the person is no longer at the scene.

Swallowed Narcotics

1. If an MPD member has a reason to suspect that a person in their custody swallowed narcotics or may have narcotics in their mouth, the member shall request an EMS response as soon as practical. Members shall not attempt to remove the narcotics, except for lifesaving purposes; members shall not use contact which would constitute a choke hold (P&P 5-304).

2. If a person in MPD custody shows signs or symptoms of having swallowed narcotics, members shall immediately request EMS response and shall provide any necessary treatment until the arrival of EMS, in accordance with this policy and P&P 7-348. Examples of potential signs or symptoms include if the person becomes lethargic or highly agitated, or appears to be in an altered state of consciousness.
3. If the person in custody is not showing signs or symptoms but tells the MPD member that they previously swallowed narcotics, MPD members shall either request EMS response or bring the person to a hospital for evaluation as soon as practical.

Prone Positioning

1. People in MPD custody shall not be placed in the facedown prone position or any other position that causes a breathing restriction, other than briefly when necessary to secure the person or to prevent the person from causing harm to themselves or others.
2. If a person is in a position that causes a breathing restriction, for the purpose of securing the person or preventing the person from causing harm to self or others, the person shall be placed in a sitting position, or laying on their side, in a recovery position, as soon as safely possible for all parties. The purpose of placing the person in these positions is to allow the person to breathe freely, reducing the possibility of bodily harm or death from any part of the person’s respiratory system being restricted or manipulated.

3. Members shall not secure a person in any way that results in transporting the person face down in a vehicle.
4. Members shall take statements about trouble breathing seriously as a potential sign of medical distress. The ability to speak does not mean a person can breathe freely; a person can talk and still be in physiological decline. When people are restrained face down, their efforts to reposition themselves to breathe better can easily be confused with resistance.

Restraints

If a person requiring medical attention must be restrained (P&P 5-305), the member’s goal shall be to control the person so they can receive medical treatment, not to completely immobilize the person. Complete stillness could be a sign that the person has become unconscious, and members shall immediately request EMS and provide treatment in accordance with this policy.

Supervisor Notification and Review

1. Any injury or complaint of injury caused by force (including handcuffs) shall be reported and reviewed in accordance with P&P 5-302 and P&P 5-303.

2. When a person who is in MPD custody suffers an injury or illness that was not caused by use of force, the MPD member shall notify their supervisor. In-custody illnesses and injuries include, but are not limited to, vomiting, loss of consciousness, injuries the person causes to themselves, etc.
3. When notified of an in-custody injury or illness that was not caused by force, the supervisor shall do all of the following:

• Respond to the scene or to the hospital.
• Review the incident to determine or confirm how the illness or injury occurred, including a review of body worn camera recordings and other documentation if necessary to properly assess the incident.
• Complete the Injury or Illness Supervisor Review form.

4. If the person says they swallowed narcotics (or a similar substance) and is brought to a medical facility for evaluation, supervisor notification and review is not required unless the person exhibits signs of an injury or illness or receives medical treatment beyond evaluation. If the person exhibits signs of an injury or illness or receives medical treatment beyond evaluation, supervisor notification and review shall be completed as required above.

Arrests and Detention

Arrest or detention of people receiving treatment under this policy shall also be in accordance P&P 9-108 (Arrest or Detention of Injured Adults) and P&P 8-306 (Arrest or Detention of Injured or Incapacitated Juveniles in Need of Medical Attention).

Parent or Guardian Notification for Minors

Whenever minors are transported to any health care facility for medical treatment the transporting members shall notify MECC and shall ensure a reasonable attempt is made to notify the minor’s parent or guardian as to the minor’s status (P&P 8-104).

Medical Treatment After Use of Force

In addition to the requirements in this policy, some force options have specific treatment procedures required (such as P&P 5-308 Force Option- Hand-Held Chemical Aerosols and P&P 5-309 Force Option- Conducted Energy Weapons (CEWs)).

Documentation

MPD members shall document in a report any assistance provided to medical personnel regarding the medical crisis, including actions taken by the members, the effects of those actions on the person receiving treatment, and the outcome of the situation. Any physical control applied by MPD members shall be reported in accordance with P&P 5-302 Use of Force Reporting. 

• Acute Medical Crisis: When a person is suffering from a medical event in which any delay in treatment could potentially aggravate the severity of the medical crisis. These events typically develop quickly, can be severe, and demand urgent care to prevent further harm or death. They can arise from conditions such as heart attacks, strokes, severe allergic reactions, respiratory failure, trauma, medical side effects related to a mental health condition, or any other situation where the person's health is rapidly deteriorating.
• Bodily Harm: Physical pain or injury, illness, or any impairment of physical condition.
• Body Worn Camera: Portable audio-video recording equipment designed to be worn on a person.
• CEW: An intermediate weapon ("Conducted Energy Weapon") that is designed to temporarily incapacitate a person from a distance, using an electrical current for neuromuscular incapacitation.
• Chemical Aerosol: Aerosol, hand-held, pressurized, containerized chemical aerosol agents that emit a stream or vapor. (P&P 5-308)
• Choke Hold: A method by which a person applies sufficient pressure to a person to make breathing difficult or impossible, including but not limited to any pressure to the neck, throat, or windpipe that may prevent or hinder breathing, or reduce intake of air. A choke hold also means applying pressure to a person's neck on either side of the windpipe, but not to the windpipe itself, to stop the flow of blood to the brain via the carotid arteries. (MN Statute section 609.06 Subd. 3 (b))
• Complaint of Injury or Pain: A person's claim or expression of pain or injury. The complaint does not necessarily have to be associated with a visible injury.
• Conducted Energy Weapon: An intermediate weapon ("CEW") that is designed to temporarily incapacitate a person from a distance, using an electrical current for neuromuscular incapacitation.
• Crisis: An event or situation where a person's safety and health may be threatened by behavioral health challenges, to include mental health conditions, intellectual or developmental disabilities, substance use, or overwhelming stressors. A crisis can involve a person's perception or experience of an event or situation as an intolerable difficulty that exceeds the person's current resources and coping mechanisms and may include unusual stress in their life that renders the person unable to function as they normally would.
• Feasible: Objectively reasonably capable of being safely done or carried out.
• Juvenile: An individual who is under the age of eighteen (18) years.
• MECC: Minneapolis Emergency Communications Center is the city's 911 center that answers emergency and non-emergency calls and coordinates the appropriate response by public safety services.
• Parent/Legal Guardian: "Parent" means the birth or adoptive mother or father of a child and does not apply to a person whose parental rights have been terminated in relation to the child. A legal "guardian" is a person who has been appointed by a judge or social services agency, to take care of a minor child (to include foster parents).
• Police Report: A report or statement in a report that sets forth the officer's account of an incident and is entered into the MPD's Records Management System.
• Police Vehicles:
  1. Fully Marked Squad Car: Any vehicle used by the MPD that has clearly identifying police markings, emergency lights visible from front, sides and rear, siren, and a manufacturer's rating to make it suitable for pursuits. Currently, the Ford Crown Victoria, Ford Police Interceptor SUV, Chevrolet Caprice, and the Chevy Tahoe Police Pursuit Vehicle (PPV) are the only vehicles in the MPD Fleet with such a rating.
  2. Low Profile Squad Car: Any vehicle used by the MPD that has a permanent or temporary MPD door marking, emergency lights visible from front, sides and rear, siren, and a manufacturer's rating to make it suitable for pursuits.
  3. Unmarked Squad Car: Any vehicle used by the MPD not clearly identified with a shield, logo or department name that has emergency lights visible from the front, sides and rear, and a manufacturer’s rating to make it suitable for pursuits.
• PPE: Personal Protective Equipment is specialized clothing or equipment used by workers to protect themselves from direct exposure to blood or other potentially infectious materials. It includes, but is not limited to, protective disposable gloves, masks, goggles, boots, gowns and resuscitation masks.
• Transport Hold: When a peace officer or health officer takes a person into custody and the person is transported to a hospital for emergency admission and held until they are evaluated, under the authority from MN Statute section 253B.051, Subd. 1.
• Use of Force:

  An intentional contact, directly or indirectly (such as through a weapon or force device), with someone’s body, that causes pain or injury or restricts, controls or directs someone’s movement. Intentionally placing someone in fear of such contact or threatening such contact can also constitute force. This includes, but is not limited to:

  • The use of any weapon, substance, vehicle, equipment, tool, device or animal that inflicts pain or produces injury.
  • Any physical strike to any part of the body.
  • Any physical contact or threat of contact by the member or a weapon that causes or threatens to cause pain or injury.
  • Any physical contact or threat of physical contact by the member that results in physical restriction or manipulation of movement.
  • Unholstering or displaying a weapon when engaged with a subject or subjects, or pointing a weapon at a person.