Emergency medical responders are being attacked in Baltimore more frequently than in the past and should be equipped with protective vests, Rick Hoffman, president of the local firefighters' and EMS workers union, said Wednesday.
"Obviously everyone knows we are in a very dangerous city now, and the way our EMS system works, [city residents] dial 911 and we're there in normally minutes, which means we beat the police there a lot," Hoffman said. "We're walking into a time bomb, a goddamn powder keg."
Hoffman said he estimates such vests, to protect medics' vital organs from gunshots and sharp objects, could be purchased for about $100,000.