protestors are pepper sprayed by police in NYC
you’re standing marching with friends and comrades when the police break through your march, separating sections. you see an officer push a comrade, hard, and they fly backwards onto the pavement. you unthinkingly rush forward to help, guiding them backwards to the safety of the group, but just as you’re looking back up an overzealous riot cop sprays down the front lines with pepper spray. your eyes are stinging and tearing, but even in the midst of coughing you realize your friend got the worst of it. they’ve collapsed to their knees, choking and gasping, eyes swollen completely shut.
would you know what to do?
many of us are happily willing to take the blows for our causes and comrades, but seeing others incapacitated by police violence can leave us feeling disempowered – especially when we don’t know how to help out or recover.
as a medic you can contribute an essential skill to any action you’re a part of – not only are you are helping them in a time when others’ may be panicking, but you enable and empower them to continue fighting the state.
right now the TAC group is looking for some radical & dedicated folks to join our team. you should have a passion for a cause, the ability to commit to training & be ready to accept our policies. oh – you should probably be pretty chill about seeing blood too!
what you don’t need is any previous experience or training. we put everyone joining the team through rigorous 20-plus hours of hands-on training so we know where everyone is at. we cover everything from the basics of wound care to medical conditions and dealing with more serious traumas. we also look at some theory that helps us make decisions in the moment – things like common police tactics and weapons.
if you’re interested, we’d love to hear from you! TACstreetmedics@gmail.com
toronto area collective of street medics 