Bill
S 2992
Establishes a right to emergency medical services for anyone in custody or under control of law enforcement when experiencing an emergency or medically unstable condition.
Purpose
- Establishes a statutory right to emergency medical care for individuals who, while in the custody or direct contact of law enforcement or correctional personnel, experience an emergency medical condition or are medically unstable.
- Aims to ensure timely access to emergency medical services (EMS) and clarify duties of law enforcement, correctional officers, and medical personnel in such situations.
Key Provisions
1) Definitions (Section 33 1/2)
- Emergency medical condition: A condition with symptoms severe enough that prompt medical attention is reasonably expected to prevent serious jeopardy to health, impairment, or dysfunction.
- Medically unstable: A condition (physical, behavioral, substance use, or mental health-related) that could lead to an emergency medical condition.
- Law enforcement agency, officer, correctional officer, correctional agency, and medical personnel: Expanded definitions to cover a wide range of public and private institutions (including university police, hospital police, sheriffs, corrections departments, EMS personnel, and licensed health care providers).
2) Right to Emergency Medical Services (Section 33 1/2(2))
- Any person who experiences an emergency medical condition or is medically unstable while in direct contact with or under the custody/control of law enforcement or correctional personnel has the right to emergency medical services.
3) Duty to Request EMS (Section 33 1/2(3)–(4))
- Officers must immediately request EMS if the person communicates or is observed to be experiencing an emergency medical condition or is medically unstable.
- Officers are not required to request EMS if they reasonably determine the person is not experiencing an emergency medical condition or is medically unstable, or if the person was seen by a medical professional within the previous 24 hours and released with a determination that they were not in an emergency or unstable condition.
4) Medical Personnel Access and Priority (Section 33 1/2(5))
- When medical personnel and law enforcement/correctional officers are both involved, officers must promptly allow medical personnel to begin treatment for anyone in custody or under control who communicates or is observed to be in an emergency or medically unstable condition.
5) Annual Reporting (Section 33 1/2(6))
- Within one year of enactment, the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS), in consultation with relevant agencies, must submit an annual report to the Attorney General on the delivery of emergency medical care to persons held in custody.
- Required data elements include: frequency and timing of care, EMS activations and impressions, admissions/hospitalizations, data prior to custody-related deaths, psychiatric crisis details (including 3-digit crisis code usage), and data integration for co-response models.
- The report should include summaries of emergencies, care timelines, and effectiveness, focusing on timely provision of care.
Affected Stakeholders
- Individuals in custody or under the control of law enforcement or correctional agencies.
- Law enforcement officers, correctional officers, and their agencies (state, municipal, county, and campus/university police; sheriff departments; corrections facilities).
- EMS providers and medical personnel.
- Massachusetts Office of Public Safety and Security, municipal police departments, campus police, Department of Corrections, and healthcare institutions involved in custody-related care.
Procedural/Timeline Aspects
- Enactment triggers a requirement for an annual, comprehensive data report starting within one year after enactment.
- Ongoing obligation for EMS activation and medical treatment in custody scenarios, subject to reasonable determinations by officers as outlined.
Overall Impact
- Codifies a federal- and commonly recognized standard of care for medically urgent situations in custody.
- Improves access to timely medical care, clarifies responsibilities of law enforcement and medical staff, and creates accountability through annual reporting on custody-related medical emergencies.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
Sign in to ask a question.
