Excerpts from abc7chicago.com:

Amid warnings that Chicago Fire Department paramedics are literally taking a beating at the hands of their patients, the Committee on Public Safety unanimously approved an ordinance at the behest of the Chicago Firefighters Union Local 2.

It would create a special category of crime for assaulting CFD paramedics, private ambulance workers, American Red Cross, or any other emergency medical services and disaster response personnel in Chicago. If convicted, an offender would face up to 180 days in jail and fines as high as $1,000.

A 10-1 for a police incident goes out on the radio band heard by every police officer in Chicago – but a 10-1 involving a paramedic or firefighter is handled very differently. A single police car responds.

With 1,700 police vacancies in the Chicago Police Department, paramedics increasingly find themselves on the scene without any backup during overnight hours.

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