Scientific article
Letter
OA Policy
English

Physicians in police tactical teams – ethical considerations

Publication date2023-08-29
First online date2023-08-29
Abstract

High-profile mass shootings, terrorist attacks, and experience acquired during recent conflicts have led to a shift in police tactics, who now follow an aggressive approach to immediately neutralize the threat in addition to providing early tactical medical care. A growing number of police tactical teams now include physicians in their ranks to increase the level of forward care. Many ethical questions arise from having physicians on police tactical teams, such as the notion of risk, the use of force, and the ultimate role the physician is expected to play. Having a physician in such a team may be an invaluable asset to increase the team’s safety and allow for advanced forward care, however, this requires two important conditions. The first is that the role of the physician is clearly defined and that what is expected of him is in line with medical ethics, while the second is extensive tactical training with the team to collaborate flawlessly in this complex, high-stress environment.

Keywords
  • Damage control
  • Ethics
  • Police tactical team
  • Prehospital
  • Tactical medicine
Citation (ISO format)
DE VALENCE DE MINARDIERE, Timothee, SUPPAN, Laurent. Physicians in police tactical teams – ethical considerations. In: Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine, 2023, vol. 31, n° 1, p. 42. doi: 10.1186/s13049-023-01110-z
Main files (1)
Article (Published version)
Identifiers
Journal ISSN1757-7241
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21downloads

Technical informations

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