There has been a long-standing history of animosity between Hathian’s police department and Hathian’s fire department, from disagreements to outright ‘war’. This is nothing new, but FDH employing blackmail and coercion to get their way? That’s certainly something new, something illegal, and something the former FDH Captain Rog Messmer would never have stood for.
In a recent article run in the Hathian Observer, FDH Captain Rousseau was quoted as stating that they have suspended EMS services to all HPD officers because of ‘friction’ between the municipalities. This is a flagrant misuse of power puts the lives of all of Hathian at risk by making the HPD less likely to do their job in saving citizens as a result of this blackmail.
If HPD officers are denied emergency medical services when in need, they’re less likely to put themselves in dangerous situations to save the lives of citizens in peril. This leaves you, the citizen, without police support should you find yourself being robbed, assaulted, raped.
The EMTs of Hathian’s Fire Department are ruled by the same legal Duty to Act as all other EMTs in the United States. In the simplest terms, a duty to act is a legal duty requiring a party to take necessary action to prevent harm to another person or to the general public. As EMS providers, this duty has been interpreted by courts to mean responding to calls in an expeditious, but safe, manner; performing a thorough assessment of both the patient and the situation; providing the appropriate treatment; and transporting to an appropriate receiving facility when transport is warranted.
Whatever incident prompted the personal vendetta against Corporal Keahi of the HPD is irrelevant, the threat of with-holding EMT services to the HPD as a whole is unethical at best and in direct violation of their legal Duty to Act, making it illegal at worst.
This is an entirely new level of dirty for Hathian’s municipalities and puts the FDH in the lead for most corrupt public service in Hathian. Why should the common citizens of Hathian be punished because one man with the command of a whole municipality is holding another municipality hostage to get special treatment for him and his spouse?
Congratulations, Captain Rousseau, you’ve left us to wonder how often the FDH has made the choice to play God and decide who is worthy of life-saving medical attention, and who isn’t. You’ve even outdone the historical reputation of brutality from HPD Captain Hendrich Andel. That’s something to be proud of.
