"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because
rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
- George Orwell

Beginning in the year 2000, members of Worcester EMS began to enter the field of Tactical EMS. Three of our paramedics, Rod Witkos, Tim MacDonald and Chris Montiverdi, took the CONTOMS Class number 73 in June of 2000, and were accepted into the Central Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council's Special Operations Unit in August 2000.

This unit, which includes law enforcement officers from across Central Massachusetts, is meant to offer a local option when a special operations, or SWAT-type, unit is needed. The goal of any team is to accomplish its mission without any injuries or deaths resulting from the team's intervention. High-risk warrant service and barricaded suspect calls are only two examples of the types of calls the team may be activated for.

A partial list of reasons for the team being called out is:

• High Risk Warrant Service
• Barricaded Suspect(s)
• Hostage Rescue
• Dignitary Protection
• Civil Disorder

The tactical environment offers challenges to tactical paramedics that the "normal" street call does not. Care is often provided in extremely hazardous, low-light, and/or extreme temperature conditions; the environment care is rendered in, as well as the care provided, resemble that which military combat medics are used to.

CONTOMS, or EMT-Tactical, training includes:

• Medical threat assessment and medical intelligence
• Care under fire
• Hostage survival
• Evidence collection & clinical forensics
• Weapons and their effects
• Toxic hazards risk and management
• Medical effects of extended operations
• Special equipment and medical kits
• Medicine across the barricade
• Chem/Bio WMD

Annual In-service training for the CEMLEC Team occupies 184 hours and consists, in part, of:

• Tactical Entry/Simunitions
• Defensive Tactics/Weapon Retention
• Officer Down/Rescue Drills
• PT Testing
• Less Lethal Weapons
• Firearms Qualification-Handgun, Rifle, & SMG
• In addition, the tactical paramedics must also train the other officers in self/buddy aid and their first responder responsibilites.

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