At Monday’s Board of Supervisor’s meeting, no action was taken regarding the Sunflower County Emergency Response Association’s request to bear firearms on their side during emergency response calls. President Glenn Donald told association President Larry Brown they would take his request under advisement, but would not go against the sheriff.
When the issue arose at their June 19 meeting, Sheriff James Haywood told the board he was against it because of the potential liability. He said then, “If you do this, you might as well kiss your careers goodbye. One incident and it’s over with folks.”
The county’s insurance agent, Doug Russell of Indianola Insurance told the board in June that it would increase the cost of their liability insurance and require further training along the lines of that afforded to a deputy sheriff.
And because the county has two types of liability, general and law enforcement, they would have to come under the latter and because of that, would fall under the sheriff’s control and you can't pass by the sheriff having his say, according to Russell.
Haywood is vehemently against allowing visible side arms on emergency personnel. He conceded that they have a right to carry the gun, but he's requesting that they not wear the gun on their side but keep them in their vehicle.
Board Attorney Johnny McWilliams asked Brown why they needed to have a gun on their side, and what prompted it. Brown said first responders have always carried their guns, which is their legal right.
Haywood contends that the Second Amendment only applies to private citizens and not to those who are under the authority of a governmental entity, because when they are acting on behalf of that entity, they must follow those rules. He again asked why they couldn’t just keep the gun in their vehicle or at least their pocket.
Haywood told Brown that carrying the guns on their side is upsetting to people in the neighborhoods, but Brown said he wasn’t aware of any documented cases where people had been upset about them carrying a gun.
Brown appeared before the county leaders to present a letter drafted by the responder association in response to the board order prohibiting the group from wearing their firearms on their side. They are requesting that the supervisors rescind or at least amend their board order.
Reading from the letter, Brown said decisions were made without the group’s input or knowledge and questioned the “open-door” relationship they have always had with the board and requested that if any problems arise the board would notify them and also not make any decisions concerning the association without communicating with them.
Donald addressed Brown's statement with an assertion that the board has always communicated with the association through the Emergency Management Director Ben Grant, (the association is under his authority) and that Grant was present at the meeting, when the decisions were made and that the responders had not been overlooked.
The responders met in June and drafted the letter, which included a list of concessions in hope that the board would accept them as a workable solution and cancel out their original decision.
Brown offered to provide a carry conceal permit for each person and undergo 16 hours of “shoot, don't shoot training.” In the name of coming to a livable consensus, Donald asked if the responders provided the sheriff with a list would that suffice, Haywood was not swayed.
In the letter, the medical responders pointed out that they operate mainly in the Indianola area and are considered as the best and most aggressive association of its kind in the state and they often arrive on scene before an ambulance or higher carrier is available and are never sure of what they might find.
Donald, Haywood, McWilliams and the other board members all agreed that the emergency responders are an irreplaceable asset to the citizens of the county, but did not relent from their previous choice to support the sheriff.
Unrelenting, Brown contends that nationwide fire and emergency medical responders are encountering more hostility and seeing more illegal narcotic use, which results in safety concerns.
He read on, “If we are injured or worse on scene, we cannot assess, treat or answer that call or the next.” He expressed that the preservation of life with the delivery of free hospital emergency medical care and prevention of injury through education was a top priority. And further stated how two-thirds of the time they are on scene before an ambulance in Indianola and “We never know when a scene will go bad,” Brown said.
The letter also reminded the board that the association is made up of citizen volunteers and their safety and getting home to their families is of the utmost importance to them.
At the heart of his appeal was the question, “Are there any circumstances where the board will amend or rescind their order to prohibit the carrying of firearms by Emergency Medical Responders?
To which, McWilliams responded that the board could but probably would not because the sheriff was against such a move and the insurance company said it would increase their premium substantially, “Those were the two main things,” he said.
Supervisor Dennis Holmes said, “The ones that qualified and had the proper training, I personally wouldn’t have a problem with that. But every Tom, Dick and Harry carrying a pistol, I wouldn’t be for that,” he said.
Brown injected, “I’m gonna interrupt you right there, we don’t have every Tom, Dick and Harry as an EMR in this county.” He then reiterated the training requirements for an EMR. And asserted how they simply wanted to maintain the ability to keep themselves and the patient safe. “As far as I know, we haven't had any problems,” Brown said.
Referring to the number of service calls they’ve answered, he stated they’ve had a lot of opportunities to mess up, but that is not happening. Referring to the quickness in which emergency personnel are called upon to respond, Brown said, “You’ve got more opportunity for them to mess up just driving down the road then carrying a weapon.”
The association has functioned in the county since 1999 and is required to take a minimum of 60 hours of training to be certified as emergency medical responders, plus continuing education classes and other training.
