Angry and frustrated and hurt are words that come to mind, but I don't think they really encapsulate the turmoil ripping through our country right now, as it rightly should. This is a long time coming. We have needed changes, we can do it. This is a small offering, but hopefully something that can blossom into a larger affect. 

In the United States, sheriffs and police chiefs are elected or appointed to their positions and police officers are hired to their positions, all after training. Each and every law enforcement individual in this country has to finish the POST (Peace Officer Standards and Training) Academy. Each state though, has different POST requirements. While this will focus on Colorado, not a single other state requires more than basic first aid for POST graduation. Currently, if you read through the Academy lessons, there are plenty of ways to lead, defend oneself, control, and oddly, only one specific medical section on SUIDS (Sudden Unexplained Infant Death Syndrome). The POST Academies can be taken at different locations throughout Colorado, but for the most part offer the same things, showing a glaring ignorance of medical training. 

Currently law enforcement is required just to have basic first aid, and not even CPR in most cases. Again-they don't even need to know CPR! To put this in perspective, in Colorado, your whitewater river guide is required to have more medical training than the police officer who shows up to a car accident first. In fact, the volunteers on Search and Rescue teams, who are under the local sheriff jurisdiction, all have more medical training than the POST certification requires by law. The list of situations is endless where a police officer or sheriff with medical training would be beyond beneficial. If the cost of the course seems hefty, it should be noted that a law officers' job is to serve and protect fellow human beings. All important careers require important training. Officers and sheriffs would be desk duty until they are EMT certified. Save up. 

I move that the Colorado POST Training is changed to REQUIRE all law enforcement to have EMT training BEFORE they even take a step out into the streets. Law enforcement is a job that requires working with and sometimes helping people. There are so many variables in which this certification would be valuable to our communities and the most stunningly obvious relates to understanding medicine and the duty to help one another, not slowly murder someone because of their skin color.