Recently in the Greater Pittston and Allentown area, individuals acting separately intentionally spit in the faces of paramedics who were responding to emergency calls in the area. These acts posed a health risk to the paramedics, but the police department was only able to charge the individuals with harassment. If the paramedics had been police officers, then the same action would have been considered a felony under Pennsylvania law.
To provide more protections for all our emergency responders, I plan to introduce legislation to add emergency responders, such as firefighters and EMS, to current protections offered to law enforcement officers. This change will make it a felony to intentionally cause an emergency responder, including paramedics, to come into contact with bodily fluids by tossing, spitting, or expelling the fluid or material, rather than just a harassment charge.
All of our first responders put themselves at considerable risk in the line of duty, but the intentional exposure to biowaste should not be among them.  This commonsense legislation simply gives equal protections to our fire and medical responders to those already afforded to police. Supporting this bill would provide more support and protection for emergency responders who are crucial to all of our safety and wellbeing.
 
Please join me in co-sponsoring this effort which would encourage these safety measures.