Many remember when two Boise Police officers were injured during a shooting on the Boise Bench about two years ago.
Ada County Paramedics tacmed team were dispatched as well as swat to tend to the officers, but SWAT's armored vehicle is not equipped to transport patients who need traumatic life support.
Ada County Paramedics' tactical medical team has unveiled an armored ambulance to be dispatched for situations like the Boise Bench shooting.
The tacmed team leader says previously there wasn't a seamless way to respond to hazards like that. He says swat's armored vehicle is not equipped to transport patients who need advanced life support and it wasn't always readily available.
He says they are very excited to have the ability to solely focus on the rescue of citizens.
"A lot of people when they see an armored vehicle, get a little apprehensive about it, but I wanted to bring comfort to the community to know that this vehicle is here for them to provide them rescue, you don't go to work everyday thinking about what situations could come up that you may need rescued from, but it's stuff that we think about all the time. This vehicle just gives us the ability to do that more effectively," said Chris Shandera, Ada County Paramedics tacmed team leader.
Shandera says anytime a high risk situation comes up where there's a threat of gunfire and act of violence like that is a situation where the vehicle would be deployed.
After the Boise Bench shooting, paperwork was submitted to the ada county office of emergency management who oversees a grant through the department of homeland security for the armored ambulance.
