CHARLESTON — A committee of West Virginia senators pushed forward a bill Thursday that would give medical personnel authority to carry firearms while working with law enforcement.
In its current form, Senate Bill 83 would create a place in state law allowing tactical medical professionals to be authorized to carry a firearm while performing the duties of their profession alongside law enforcement.
Sen. Tom Takubo, R-Kanawha, the bill’s lead sponsor, said the bill was a result of the story of a physician who was on a tactical SWAT team and worried about their safety in providing aid to someone in a law enforcement-involved situation.
“They would have to go through the same technical training,” he said. “And the SWAT team would have to prove that they feel they should be doing this as well.”
The bill defines a tactical medical professional as an emergency medical service personnel, nurse or physician trained and certified in a nationally recognized tactical medical training program. The person would have to be operating in a tactical or “austere” environment while attached to a law-enforcement agency for the law to apply.
The person would be able to carry firearms while on duty if the law enforcement agency through which the professional serves authorizes it.
The bill would also give qualified immunity to such professionals, a controversial protection which would absolve them of the vast majority of civil or criminal liability for conduct occurring while carrying the firearm.
After discussing the bill Thursday, the Senate Committee on Health and Human Resources added osteopathic physicians and physician assistants to those who would qualify to carry.
The committee also added to the bill language requiring the Law Enforcement Professional Standards Committee to create standards and regulations surrounding the qualification, training, certification and continuing education for carriers.
The substitute also removes the requirement for a concealed carry license, since other sections of the bill call for the person to have enhanced law enforcement training.
Sen. Michel Azinger, R-Wood, asked what precludes that demographic from carrying now. Takubo said tactical teams have to abide by rules and want to make sure anyone with a weapon in those situations is properly trained.
“These individuals are not looking to be law enforcement,” he said. “They just want to be able to protect themselves because they’re going in with that SWAT team if, when or in case something happens.”
Sen. Vince Deeds, R-Greenbrier, who has served in law enforcement for three decades, said the bill would provide a pathway for standard law enforcement training so that medical professionals can be better prepared.
“Whether it be in a hospital circumstance or a school shooting, they’d be prepared and able to go with law enforcement,” he said. “And instead of becoming a liability, they benefit the whole team in this way.”
Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, said it could be a liability issue for employees to be able to carry weapons without special standards or authority in place.
“If something should happen with that individual who we’re authorizing with this, I think they would be responsible personally on their own,” he said. “It wouldn’t be covered by the risk liability insurance that’s carried by their employer.”
Jess Gundy, director of law enforcement professional standards for the West Virginia State Police, said he can see the nerves behind the proposed bill, but he also sees benefits. However, he thinks training law enforcement officers on special response teams as emergency medical technicians would be a better solution.
“That way you’ve got somebody who’s already trained in weaponry and then they get the EMT training and they can perform that function,” he said.
Tabuko questioned why having both pathways wouldn’t be viable.
“Obviously an ER physician would be at a much higher level of training. If you have that capability to have on scene for a rapid response at the site, it would be more beneficial than harmful to the tactical team,” he said. “And then all the individuals could be subsequently co-trained.”
A similar bill passed the Senate last year but failed to be taken up by the House of Delegates. The 2023 version passed out of the committee and will be taken up on first reading at 11 a.m. Monday during the Senate’s floor session.
