“I Can’t Breathe”

May 30, 2020

A former EMS Paramedic opines:

Not every 911 call for an ambulance is considered a ‘true emergency.’ One call that’s always a true emergency is one where the patient says, “I can’t breathe.” Whether it’s from asthma or a severe allergic reaction closing off the patient’s airway, or from heart failure filling their lungs with fluid, it’s always a truly dire emergency. Without prompt and effective intervention by EMS those may well be the patient’s last words. It’s as serious as it ever gets, with no margin for error and no time to waste. You do what you have to do as fast as you can do it and hopefully prevent the patient from going into respiratory arrest which can lead to cardiac arrest, aka death, in minutes.

Among the EMS people I knew over many years, I never met even a single one who didn’t respond to “I can’t breathe,” with anything less than their utmost effort. It wasn’t even ever joked about, and EMS folks tend to joke among themselves about plenty of horrible things. So when Eric Garner famously said it to NYPD before he stopped breathing altogether, the story landed differently on EMS ears. Those three words are a red alert, a Mayday call, an SOS that get our immediate attention. Fixing that becomes our only concern until it’s fixed. Ignoring those three words is simply an impossibility for an EMT or Paramedic.

That those words didn’t evoke any urgency when Garner spoke them seemed bizarre. The police officers continued doing exactly what they had been doing as though he hadn’t even said them. Most people were shocked when they learned of this and the phrase soon became the powerful symbol of a movement against murderous police violence towards people of color. There were at least three main takes on Garner’s last words: to the police trying to arrest him they meant nothing at all. To the average person they were an obvious plea for help. And for those with an EMS or ER background they were the sound of the highest possible alarm.

That tragedy on Staten Island in 2014 was explained away by some. He was resisting. He was in bad shape. It wasn’t really a chokehold. Etc, etc, etc. Nobody was happy about how it turned out, although the officer was presumably relieved that he wasn’t indicted. Eventually that officer was fired and the City paid several million dollars to Garner’s surviving family. And that was the end of that.

Only it wasn’t. The election of President Trump brought out some of the worst racist behavior we’ve seen in a long time. He demanded that the NFL fire Colin Kaepernick for his pregame kneeling protests against racial injustice in America. Addressing a group of police officers he explicitly told them to rough up suspects when making arrests.

And now another black man is dead after telling the police officer kneeling on his neck, ‘I can’t breathe.’ George Floyd said it over and over for eight minutes while four officers ignored his plea. Those officers have all been fired. The one who pressed his knee down on Floyd’s neck was charged with murder and manslaughter. And across the country this week the movement exploded. From Brooklyn, NYC to Oakland, CA, thousands of people came out to demand an end to police violence against black Americans. Many of the same people, including our President, who blasted Colin Kaepernick for his nonviolent protests were quick to denounce the violent ones rocking D.C., Atlanta, Minneapolis, Louisville, and Dallas last night. As if it was ever OK to ignore someone saying, ‘I can’t breathe.’

Unbelievable.

What will it take?