re: Eric Garner Autopsy Results: Homicide

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Was also the first time in my life that I ever saw EMT show up and do absolutely zero at the scene other than scoop him up and scoot him out.

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I didn't see the video, but that isn't necessarily an improper action. When you arrive on a scene, you've got to make a decision to "load and go" or "stay and play". A lot of factors weigh into the decision. Things like:

Can I perform the appropriate interventions by staying, or is it better to head straight to the ER and work on the way?

Even if I can perform the interventions here, does the environment allow me to do so?

Two examples where I've been involved in a load and go were a child involved in a coldwater drowning. He was literally taken from a deputy sheriff doing CPR and ran to the back of the ambulance and the back door shut as it was pulling off. In another, we had a cardiac arrest patient lying in a field in the middle of a driving thunderstorm.

Again, having only seen a small part of the video, in this situation you've got a patient in respiratory and possibly cardiac arrest. You're in a big city so the ER is probably only a few minutes away and you've got a potentially hostile scene (from both cops and bystanders) that could impact your ability to treat the patient.

I can understand a decision to get him in the bus and get the hell on the way to the ER.