Maybe, and with FDNY where this pilot is being tested I don't know how the pay compares, but it'd still be a big shift in how EMS is presented from the very beg

Maybe, and with FDNY where this pilot is being tested I don't know how the pay compares, but it'd still be a big shift in how EMS is presented from the very beginning to trainees. I personally like EMS because even though it's not exactly _safe_, if someone is acting out the cops deal with them, and if something is on fire or spewing ethyl-bethyl-bad-stuff into the air, fire/HAZMAT deals with it. We're the smart people in the wee-woo box that primarily focus on patient care with our friends in law enforcement and fire close by. My issue with it is that EMS and a "mental health professional" could easily get stuck in a situation with a violent, armed person and be at the mercy of police coming from a separate location to help in an emergency. Sure, the vast majority of patients are not like that, but it doesn't make sense to me to take the risk. In my experience, having police on scene but keeping their distance is fine and patients usually understand when we say they're not in trouble and anything they say to us is confidential. Some other services probably don't do it as well, especially since police get there faster most of the time.