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Tempe Police Officers can't handle the heat!!!! These wimp cops will be pampered by a team from the fire department Medical Support Unit, if they have to be outside their air conditioned squad cars for more then 2 hours in 105 F degree heat!
Will racist city of Tempe start pampering its other mostly Latino employees who work outside all day in the summer heat? Or are cops a “special class” of people? Probably not! The City of Tempe has a racist history of discriminating against its Mexican workers.
Tempe Fire medical unit focuses on serving police When John Valenzuela was a patrol officer with the Chandler Police Department, he spent countless days working in 110 degrees. He always wished someone would come to his rescue while he was serving others. Valenzuela said there were times when he thought he'd succumb to the heat. After seven years with Chandler Police, Valenzuela, a former Phoenix firefighter, joined the Tempe Fire Department. Shortly after, Tempe Fire began discussions about a program that would serve Tempe police while the officers are serving the residents of Tempe. The Medical Support Unit - believed to be the only one of its kind in Arizona - began earlier this year. "Police are often at risk for heat exhaustion," said Valenzuela, whose title is Tempe Fire Department transportation officer. "So whenever there's a call out, I immediately respond, then set up my rehab zone." Valenzuela's team sets up water, Gatorade and chairs under a tent at any crime scene where it is at least 105 degrees and four or more police are going to be there for at least two hours. The unit also provides sunscreen, chapstick, Band-aids, a cardiac monitor and an ice cold air mist used to drop body temperature four degrees in 90 seconds. Commander Bob Gage of the Tempe Police special investigations bureau said the Medical Support Unit has had a major impact on his duties. "At the fourth of July event, up until this past year and every year prior, we've had at least one officer succumb to heat issues," he said. "And we've had officers at crime scenes succumb as well." Police often have to stay on a crime scene or be out directing traffic for hours in the heat. More often than not, they are not able leave a scene to get water or seek out shade. "Wearing a vest, dark colored clothing and extra equipment in 110 degrees, you are susceptible to a heat related emergency. So the MSU is equipped to handle all the needs that Tempe Police has," Valenzuela said. MSU members are paramedics and can respond immediately if an officer suffers from heat exhaustion. Now nearly through its first summer, the unit hopes to get additional funding for supplies and to expand. "The officers are going through the fluids much faster than I expected," Valenzuela said. The program will eventually have eight members that will be on call 24 hours a day every day of the week, Valenzuela said. |