Committee hears testimony on tougher penalties after surge in assaults on EMS workers; bill laid over

Senate File 13‑29, presented by Senator Seaburger, would increase criminal penalties for assaults on firefighters and EMS personnel. The bill would make assaults that do not inflict demonstrable bodily harm a gross misdemeanor and would increase fines and imprisonment for assaults that do cause demonstrable bodily harm.

Shane Howell, president of the Hennepin County Association of Paramedics and EMTs and a veteran paramedic, testified that assaults on EMS personnel have risen. "78 percent of our members have been physically assaulted by a patient or bystanders," Howell said, and he cited an increase in incidents involving projectiles. He described a summer incident in Minneapolis in which a passerby hurled a large piece of concrete at a stretcher and narrowly missed injuring an EMS worker.

Paramedic Ivo Tabakoff described being kicked in the ambulance, sustaining a concussion that required months of medical follow up and continued therapy; he said the prosecutor later dropped charges in his case. "I was on the floor of the ambulance... I was diagnosed with a severe concussion," Tabakoff said. He urged the Legislature to strengthen protections for clinicians who go into volatile scenes without weapons and who provide lifesaving care.

Senator Seaburger said judges have expressed frustration that current law does not provide adequate penalty ranges in some cases. Committee members discussed balancing penalties with concerns about mental‑health crises that may underlie some assaults; the sponsor said the bill targets deliberate attacks rather than actions arising solely from medical or psychiatric emergencies.

The committee laid SF 13‑29 on the table for further consideration.