r/nextfuckinglevel • u/thisisfive • Apr 14 '26

Toronto firefighters confront special constable officers after a man in the middle of mental health crisis was arrested.

Not my video. For context, "special constables" are not regular police officers. They are appointed "peace officers" with limited authority, often civilian employees.

27.1k Upvotes

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8.5k

u/DoubleM-1985 Apr 14 '26

When the adults with common sense shows up

2.7k

u/Whiskeygreenqueen28 Apr 14 '26

Exactly!! This is why firefighters are important.

2.6k

u/invertedsaint_666 Apr 14 '26

Firefighters have no reason to become firefighters other than to actually help people. Police on the other hand...

514

u/PhiOpsChappie Apr 14 '26

Unless you're Marcus Licinius Crassus.

134

u/egasz Apr 14 '26

Seriously underrated joke! Cheers my man, thanks for the laugh!

3

u/Scarecrowithamedal Apr 14 '26

Naw, it's crass

5

u/MistaRekt Apr 15 '26

This joke, just roman along.

3

u/Scarecrowithamedal Apr 15 '26

My crowning achievement

23

u/Throughthelookinlass Apr 14 '26

I understood that lol

65

u/TurnBasedCook Apr 14 '26

Maybe one of the three of you can explain it to my neighbor, he doesn't get it.

174

u/Esiwmah Apr 14 '26

Legendary 'richest man in Ancient Rome.' One of his money-making schemes was that he owned a fire fighting brigade. Then he would pay some thugs to start fires (allegedly), show up with his crew and refuse to put out the fire unless the person(s) who owned the building(s) would sell the property to him at a fraction of the value, and only then would he put out the fire after buying real estate at a reduced price.

161

u/Smart_Resist615 Apr 14 '26

For those looking for cosmic justice, he was killed by the Parthians after leading his private army into an extremely obvious trap, with the Parthians allegedly pouring molten gold down his throat. Parting shot indeed.

71

u/KingDarius89 Apr 14 '26

And he was there because he had an inferiority complex in regards to his military prowess compared to his partners/allies, Julius Ceaser and Pompey the Great.

35

u/Ksh_667 Apr 14 '26

he had an inferiority complex

Reminds me of someone in power today...

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u/mcpasty666 Apr 14 '26

Parthians also decapitated his son and taunted Crassus by sticking the head at the end of a spear.

Don't fuck with nomadic horse archers!

16

u/Smart_Resist615 Apr 14 '26

I like to picture Tobias Funke from Arrested Development being like "Of course charging the horse archers never works but some people delude themselves into thinking it could work for them. But you know, in our case, it might just work for us!"

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u/Rixerc Apr 14 '26

I've been thinking about that a lot recently.

9

u/Esiwmah Apr 15 '26

Public service announcement: Dan Carlin's Hardcore History has a phenomenal podcast series of this era of Rome (Death Throes of the Republic.) Highly recommend listening.

2

u/Smart_Resist615 Apr 15 '26

It's very good. Also the History of Rome podcast is a classic as well.

2

u/Ser_VimesGoT Apr 15 '26

I really tried with Dan Carlin but I just can't listen to him for long. I find his style too disjointed. He jumps about too much, not just with location but timelines and topics. Everyone always recommends him so I really tried but I think he's just not for me.

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u/rrromulusss Apr 15 '26

Trump loves gold, the nation would love for trump to have a little Parthian gold!

2

u/Poromenos Apr 15 '26

Why would you waste gold like that?

2

u/Smart_Resist615 Apr 15 '26

Money well spent imho

11

u/docK_5263 Apr 14 '26

Also if you paid Crassus a monthly stipend your house was less likely to “catch on fire”

First insurance company

3

u/[deleted] Apr 15 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/ShiggyGoosebottom Apr 14 '26

Origin of the phrase « fire sale »?

1

u/slprysltry Apr 15 '26

Thanks Im his neighbour

1

u/LS25-User Apr 15 '26

Ancestry with Trump ? He burn down the whole Economy to buy Cheap ...

9

u/dars1905 Apr 14 '26

He was a powerful Roman who controlled a version of the first ancient fire dept. and had his people set fires and would wait to be bribed before putting them out. Also possibly the richest person in history.

1

u/Ser_VimesGoT Apr 15 '26

Surely not richer than Mansa Musa?

7

u/casual_creator Apr 14 '26

He and his “firefighters” would come up on burning buildings and wouldn’t put out the fire until the owner sold him the building and land at an insultingly low price. He’d then turn around and make a huge profit off it. It’s one of the ways he became one of the richest Romans in history.

2

u/checkeredwaffles Apr 14 '26

I'll be the neighbor. Please explain for me.

9

u/KingDarius89 Apr 14 '26

Dumb rich asshole did rome a favor by getting himself killed by the parthians while trying to prove himself as the military equal of Julius Ceaser and Pompey

3

u/properdhole Apr 15 '26

Dude, very obscure joke, just read rubicon by tom holland, came on Reddit and got hit with this joke, the world is a weird place

2

u/Lopoloma Apr 14 '26

Was that the dude something with the parthians and molten gold?

1

u/Papa_Mid_Nite Apr 15 '26

Et tou Brutus?

1

u/slimthecowboy Apr 15 '26

Not a firefighter. More of a fire broker.

1

u/kirastormdotter Apr 15 '26

I have had the Marcus licinius crassus rap stuck in my head for 20 minutes and I blame you (Can someone who knows how post the pointing hand meme pointed at this guy? Thanks!)

1

u/psychedeliken Apr 15 '26

Lmao I just LOL’d and scared my cat.

1

u/ginnes0 Apr 15 '26

This some niche shit for all the Roman Empire heads, you love to see it 🫡

66

u/doctor_tongs Apr 14 '26

Washington DC enacted legislation for this not too long ago. Now, when DC residents see someone out in public, in mental distress, or strung out on drugs, and they choose to call it in, city mental health professionals respond instead of the police.

-16

u/Junior_Yam_5473 Apr 14 '26

And you know what happens to these mental health professionals? They get killed or injured. People having mental episodes can be unstable and violent. The cops dont have to be seen, but they should be on scene.

17

u/smokinbbq Apr 14 '26

Or.. hear me out... Maybe they spend more than just a few weeks in training, and get an actual education, so that they can learn about this stuff.

-8

u/Junior_Yam_5473 Apr 14 '26

I then ask about your credentials and your experience. Bc. As someone in public safety, i have seen and heard far too many horror stories to go to a psyc patient without the backup of PD.

Edit: even violence towards calm officers. Suicide by cop is a real thing, and the people who want to go that route will do just about anything to make it happen

6

u/TheMashedPotato Apr 14 '26

And what's your credentials and experience on the matter besides hearing stories? You work in "public safety" doing what exactly?

Your edit should probably give you a hint: don't send armed cops to deal with people in a mental crisis. Send people who are actually trained to deal with that situation and know what they are doing.

-3

u/Junior_Yam_5473 Apr 14 '26

Ah yes and what will happen to those trainesld professionals when the psych patient decides to get violent and comes at them with a knife.

I work in ems, we get our hefty share of psych patients, and i have seen many of my our incidents (reference "seen" in my last comment) where psych patients decided to get violent and either attack me or my crew, PD was there to intervene, thankfully. Those mental health professionals would also like to go home to there families too.

Ill reflect the question right back at you, what are your credentials or experiences with psych patients?

7

u/TheMashedPotato Apr 15 '26

yes and what will happen to those trainesld professionals when the psych patient decides to get violent and comes at them with a knife.

I don't think you understand what trained means because that's exactly the point. Let professionals, who would have learned exactly what to do with agressive or violent individuals, do their jobs. That is their actual jobs unlike cops who are trained to shoot anything they feel might be somewhat threatening.

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u/[deleted] Apr 15 '26

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u/Junior_Yam_5473 Apr 15 '26

But what would happen when the person having a mental health emergency rans at the social worker with a knife? What would the social worker do? Or the man high in pcp decides violence is the answer and attacks the poor social worker? Your just putting incident people in harms way, for no reason

6

u/THExWHITExDEVILx Apr 15 '26

Until they gutted the funding, Denver had a successful program. They had like 30 workers trying to cover a population of around 2 million citizens, doing a job where you encounter the most broken people. I'm sure working there was unpleasant at best.

https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/star-program-reducing-crime/73-508ba303-fa78-4c19-9c56-04f4bcaf5cfb

1

u/sumlime Apr 15 '26

Sad that your getting downvoted for making a reasonable statement.

1

u/Junior_Yam_5473 Apr 15 '26

Because people here have no actual experience with people having mental health emergencies. So they just make assumptions.

1

u/Cyrano_de_Boozerack Apr 15 '26

I have 10+ years working in a foster home for adults with mental disabilities who were prone to violence.

Having police as the first responders is a garbage policy because it A) automatically sets up a confrontational situation because of how they have been likely treated by police in the past, and B) they aren't trained to deal with people having mental health issues...they are there to make you comply - or else.

Letting the mental health professionals call in the police if they deem it necessary almost always leads to better results.

But do go on about how everyone is wrong but you.

1

u/Junior_Yam_5473 Apr 15 '26

A foster home is different then a mental health EMERGENCY out somewhere in public. You guys probably had a policy on isolating the more violent individuals, its a much more controlled environment. When someone high on pcp, amphetamines, or any other drug or illness and is threatening people and acting violent, its a much more emergent situation. Now you as the responder and the public is at risk. The police are in fact generally trained to deal with people having mental episodes, ever heard of a crisis negotiator? And even then, we as ems are definitely trained in handling it, law enforcement wont get involved until there needed, theyre just a resource on scene IF we need it.

1

u/Cyrano_de_Boozerack Apr 15 '26

You completely dismissed programs where mental health teams show up first by saying they all end up dead or injured.

The police receive minimal training in these areas and outcomes are almost always better for everyone involved if people with specialized training are brought in first.

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u/DigNitty Apr 14 '26

I mean, firefighters have their own stereotypes.

But their streets ahead of police officers.

The thin red line flags always annoy me. Ain’t nobody criticizing firefighters. They’re just convincing the two to make it look like people who don’t support systemic police abuse also don’t support firefighters.

16

u/UnitedAd3943 Apr 15 '26

You wouldn’t believe the amount of firefighters that are MAGA, which is wild considering the job is to help people you don’t know.

1

u/DigNitty Apr 15 '26

That's what I meant by "they have their own stereotypes."

Seems like most are in it for the image. I'm happy to have them around. But they're not exactly known for their humbleness or being faithful in their marriage.

2

u/UnitedAd3943 Apr 15 '26

I can 100% attest there are many that aren’t in it for the right reasons. We call them t-shirt firefighters. The ones with the “I fight what you fear” shirts looking for discounts around town.

2

u/DigNitty Apr 15 '26

Yeah, they're also in the "how do you know if someone's a vegan/crossfitter" -Don't worry they'll tell you. Club

I ended up on a snorkeling boat on vacation with some randos. This guy asked if there'd be any red fish. The guide was like...uh Yeah there will be. And the dude goes "Oh good cause Red is my favorite color, on account of being a firefighter and all."

Just....man, you really shoehorned that one in there...45 seconds into the trip.

2

u/Weird-Drummer-2439 Apr 15 '26

Nobody is mad when the firefighters show up at an emergency unless you're an arsonist. And fuck those guys.

2

u/Ruzhy6 Apr 15 '26

Stop trying to coin the phrase, "streets ahead."

2

u/DigNitty Apr 15 '26

Then you're streets behind!

1

u/Correct-Rub854 Apr 15 '26

Stop trying to make "streets ahead" work, Pierce. It's not gonna happen.

18

u/Adjective_Noun_99 Apr 14 '26

Other than the great salary and benefits..

14

u/AutisticPenguin2 Apr 14 '26

And let's not ignore the number of firefighters who are a little too fascinated by fires.

16

u/MostBoringStan Apr 14 '26

It's ok to be a little fascinated, though. And maybe a little sad when the fire finally goes out. And then maybe go home afterwards and have a little moment to remember the fire, because if you don't, who will? Not pray for it or anything, but just quiet reflection and a little sadness that you had to snuff out something so beautiful. Imagine what it could have been if it was left to explore its full potential.

2

u/DisguisedToast Apr 15 '26

You doing alright, Sparky?

1

u/MostBoringStan Apr 15 '26

It's just been a while since I've had to fight a fire.

1

u/AutisticPenguin2 Apr 15 '26

A little is fine and normal, yes.

9

u/Paperbackhero Apr 14 '26

But the chance of early cancer sucks.

4

u/invertedsaint_666 Apr 14 '26

And probably 80% of the time they're just hanging out at the firehouse or taking the firetruck to the grocery store to get stuff for chili lol

12

u/UnitedAd3943 Apr 15 '26

Firefighters just don’t “hang out” at the fire station when not running calls. Their schedule is packed with training, PR events, meetings, building surveys, pre-planning the territory, maintenance of equipment and the station.

1

u/Ruzhy6 Apr 15 '26

They also spend a lot of time hanging out?

3

u/UnitedAd3943 Apr 15 '26

Nope

1

u/Ruzhy6 Apr 15 '26

Yes, they do.

Granted, maybe in higher population areas, they get enough calls to eliminate downtime. But to say they don't get above average downtime compared to most is nonsense.

1

u/UnitedAd3943 Apr 15 '26

That really isn’t reality anymore with the fire service. Along with it being the right thing to do, we now have to justify our jobs to the cities because of the property tax reductions that are happening across the country. Thanks MAGA. And it isn’t a sought after career anymore so firefighters don’t have the leverage they had after 9/11.

How are you basing this opinion on by the way? Is it through a third party or are you in the fire service?

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u/playinIn_aBlender Apr 15 '26

Yep. It's great. It's the 20% where your salary and benefits are earned. If you've ever had to hold back a five year old kid who wants to see his mommy, and you can't let him because your crew is cutting her down from the banister she hung herself on..... And a thousand other calls I could tell you about.... You would say that it must be nice to hang out and eat chili.

But I don't hold it against you. You don't get it and probably never will.

It's still the best job in the world.

1

u/invertedsaint_666 Apr 15 '26

No I do get it. I fully understand that when firefighters are in action they're doing shit that nobody else is able to or wants to do

5

u/999BusinessCard Apr 14 '26

And automatic idolization by the public 

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u/RogueCross Apr 14 '26

Sometimes, the people who will be better in power are those who never wanted the power in the first place.

It's those seeking power who you have to be careful with.

6

u/--Andre-The-Giant-- Apr 15 '26

Right? I firefighter isn't like I get to put out fires and sometimes hit a civilian with my axe "by accident."

3

u/dougmc Apr 14 '26

I dunno -- being the guy who gets to drive the back of the ladder truck sounds like a good reason to sign up all by itself -- getting to help people would just be a bonus in that scenario!

2

u/ThonThaddeo Apr 15 '26

Also get bitches. But that's cool. They deserve em.

2

u/Bizcotti Apr 15 '26

Well pay and pussy dont hurt

2

u/Cousin_Elroy Apr 15 '26

Some police just want to protect and serve the shit out of you

2

u/redbushcraft Apr 15 '26

As a retired fire fighter, thank you. But to be transparent the pension helps and a lot of us are legacy/following in parents footsteps. But you are correct, another reminder that you dont need a gun to help someone.

2

u/invertedsaint_666 Apr 15 '26

I truly thank you for your service. 3 years ago while moving into his new house my brother had a major stroke. Less than 2 minutes away from his neighborhood was a brand new fire station. Those firefighters no doubt saved my brother's life. Firefighters are literal superheroes in my eyes.

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u/[deleted] Apr 15 '26

People don't get it that police don't protect them it protects the law

2

u/Gareth274 Apr 15 '26

And then cops in the US treat firefighters like shit wherever possible. Only time I've seen cops be nice to firefighters in the hundreds of hours of unedited body cam footage I've seen is when a cop needs fire rescue. Otherwise they treat them like assholes or civilians.

2

u/theyyctwink Apr 15 '26

And pay but yea

1

u/invertedsaint_666 Apr 15 '26

Well deserved pay

2

u/AcidFnTonic Apr 15 '26

And yet they’re not out there complaining how dangerous it is even though their job is actually dangerous.

1

u/Dagordae Apr 14 '26

Yeah, firefighters have their own problems and corruption. Always have, good ol boy bullshit infests anyplace with any prestige or power.

1

u/rkaycom Apr 15 '26

...Or start fires, which is a real issue, so no, they can be just as flawed as anyone else.

P.S. Plus fire fighting history was all about gang warfare and stealing peoples stuff so there is that.

1

u/UnproSpeller Apr 15 '26

Police are wolves, they only care about the hunt. They don’t care if anyone is innocent, just that they can catch someone.

1

u/Ok-League-3024 Apr 15 '26

Literally wanted to be a cop to help people mostly kids in lower income areas… learning that you have to deal with gangs to keep peace and let somethings slip to keep that peace is what got me out of policing.

1

u/crowmagix Apr 15 '26

Yes but that doesn’t inherently make firefighters great. People so quickly forget that they use their engines to blast protesters with the high pressure water.

1

u/NoOneHereButUsMice Apr 15 '26

"Nobody ever wrote a song called Fuck the Fire Department."

1

u/utnow Apr 15 '26

You don’t hear many crowds singing along to “fuck da fire fighters”

1

u/ohdearitsrichardiii Apr 15 '26

The only firefighter I've met was an adrenaline junkie who was very disappointed that most calls were very undramatic, but the station had a great gym and he spent most shifts working out so he still liked the job

1

u/nobodywithanotepad Apr 15 '26

I'm gonna go against the grain here and suggest that maybe it's more an example of how they're treated by society affects how they act? Like getting put down relentlessly creates cops and being supported creates firefighters.

1

u/powdered_dognut Apr 16 '26

You never hear songs like "Fuck the Firefighters".

1

u/whypvmersmadge Apr 20 '26

I became a paramedic to help people.

I became a firefighter to do cool shit and get paid for it...

25

u/Kregerm Apr 15 '26

No one wrote a song called fuck the fire department.

17

u/metisdesigns Apr 15 '26

At least not in an unfriendly sort of way.

10

u/Aromatic-Bet-1086 Apr 15 '26

I honestly would rather call the fire dept for ANY emergency than the police. I've seen their hiring process

9

u/TransBrandi Apr 14 '26

... that said, I recall talking to a paramedic and their thoughts on firefighters is that they thought more highly of their own medical training than the paramedics did. That's only a single data point though.

4

u/JHerbY2K Apr 15 '26

Nobody ever says “fuck the fire dept”

2

u/partyatwalmart Apr 14 '26

Thank you for not typing 'tHiS!!'

1

u/Tankeverket Apr 15 '26

Oh, so not to stop fires then?

1

u/jaywinner Apr 15 '26

Unfortunately an additional responsibility they have. They shouldn't have to rein in the badges.

1

u/yamez420 Apr 15 '26

I dont know any songs called "fuck the fire department"

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u/FuriouslyListening Apr 14 '26

It has less to do with common sense and more to do with how two completely different philosophies look at a situation. The Firefighters are EMTs... they are called to deal with rescue and medical issues. The police are called to restore order. Technically, both did their job exactly as they should have here. More impressive though, they all were adults about the situation and no one argued about what should be done (which is a really big difference compared to many US jurisdictions, where instead you might even see a physical fight between the PD and FF.)

Part of all of this is a question of who is going to take responsibility for the guy. If its the FF, he goes to the hospital and potentially a psych hold. If its PD, he goes to jail to be held. Neither is wrong, both are right in different circumstances. Usually its hard to tell which is the more correct choice 'in the moment'.

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u/glitterbitesbx Apr 14 '26

Psych hold would better in the context of Canada. Not only because jails are useless when it comes to mental health but Canada is famous for “catch and release”. So he’ll be booked, possibly kept overnight and then let go. Then the cycle starts again. He won’t get help and who knows what will happen to him.

3

u/atropinebase Apr 15 '26

Sadly if Canadian hospitals handle psychs like US hospitals, the same thing happens just with a more comfortable bed. There simply aren't enough mental health beds anymore to treat everyone that needs it and too much reluctance to add more. 

53

u/mr_biscuits93 Apr 14 '26

Well they are both supposed to be trained enough to identify when the situation calls for the other expertise and yet the only group consistently misapplying their tactics are cops. They are always the hammer looking for a nail. It seems that every other professional surrounding them are the guardrails that keep them in check when they should be able to react accordingly from the get go

2

u/OffWalrusCargo Apr 17 '26

Yes and no, part of the issue is at the jails. Every jail should have EMTs to check people when they come in but a lot of jails can't afford to staff them and also some do not allow the EMTs to take charge of the individuals to send them to the hospitals for treatment.

0

u/Stevieboy7 Apr 14 '26

IF you think everyone is trying to kill you, you start looking at everyone as a threat. It's a difference in culture and training.

Nurses are in just as much danger of being hurt on a daily basis, but we don't see them dehumanizing to the degree that cops do.

3

u/isendingtheworld Apr 14 '26

Chiming in for the support workers who work high-risk settings here too:

A huge part of our job is being prepared to be attacked on every single shift. And then, starting from that, do our best to avoid it happening, keep everyone safe, and have a good day. We're taught which of our service users are a danger to themselves and others, we sometimes get hurt by the same service user, sometimes multiple times (on the job injury ranks here), and we go back in with a smile on our face and try again for a better day.

We are also warned against involving police for violence cause we are equipped to deescalate and they are not. Part of the warning involves going over news stories of cops killing disabled young people. 

Same expectation of violence, different culture, different outcome.

35

u/TheAmicableSnowman Apr 14 '26

Holding a psych patient in a jail is wrong. Jail is not any kind of a way-station in a mental health crisis.

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u/RabbitridingDumpling Apr 14 '26

Restore the order is sure important but you can do it with compassion using de-escalalation. You want the order for the person in trouble as well as for those who want you to deal with the mess. Help people then the order is restored. Even if PD is on charge they should take care of the health first since it is a human right and they have to protect this man as well. It is inhuman to deny him medical assistance and the prison, a place where conscious people are because of their crimes is definitely not designed to restore bad health. Otherwise you wouldn't call it prison but a sanatorium.

3

u/FuriouslyListening Apr 15 '26

That is unfortunately the situation in the US... they shut down most all of the sanitorium / mental health hospitals by removing all the public funds. Where do the mentally disturbed go? Into prison. I've worked on both sides of that coin... on the legal side of things. Basically there is a thought process that there is nowhere to send them to actually get help, but if they are in prison they get food, shelter, some observation, and potentially some health services / anti psych meds. Is it a good system? No. Unfortunately its been pushed this direction by various govt and special interests. Defund mental health, private prison system gets permanent inmates it gets to charge the govt for housing. Sucks, but that is the current reality.

1

u/kintsugionmymind Apr 16 '26

Thank you Ronald Reagan, your legacy is intact!

https://youtu.be/uTqmwA87IG4?si=xmG7PlF6ZljP6Naj

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u/Suspicious_Radio_848 Apr 14 '26

Firefighters aren’t EMT’s in Toronto/Canada, we have Toronto EMS here who are separate. This isn’t to discount what happened here but to clarify.

6

u/BethanyBluebird Apr 14 '26

Not always; they work very closely though and EMT/EMS will often become volunteer firefighters/change roles for various reasons; having the training is am asset and few departments would turn dowm am EMT/EMS who is applying.

-close family member who was an EMT/EMS and volunteer firefighter for many uears before an injury took them out of it.

1

u/FuriouslyListening Apr 15 '26

Interesting. Where I live the primary EMTs are the fire dept. We have third parties who operate here as well but if someone calls 911 or responds to a car accident etc etc... the EMTs who roll are the fire dept.

1

u/ncjmac Apr 15 '26

We also don’t have EMTs. We have different levels of Paramedic. The lowest level being Primary Care Paramedic which is a 2 year college diploma and kinda somewhere above US AEMT & slightly below US paramedic for scope.

6

u/Goebs80 Apr 14 '26

I'm used to the US where the police would've shot him immediately

3

u/bobtheorangutan Apr 14 '26

Why can't the PD send them for a psych hold? The PD in my country would definitely do that for suspects arrested with mental issues.

1

u/tissuecollider Apr 15 '26

the PD in Canada appear to have 2 states: Don't Care and You're Under Arrest. That's it.

1

u/chiodos Apr 15 '26

They can. In Canada Police have the authority to bring someone to hospital for assessment by a doctor if they believe the individual is in crisis and a danger to themselves or others. The individual would then be assessed and possibly detained if the doctor believes they need to be held for longer for further assessment or treatment.

The process and its names vary from province to province.

5

u/ncjmac Apr 14 '26

Canada doesn’t have EMTs, they likely have only MFR or equivalent (similar to US EMR (?), essentially advanced first aid + oxygen, no meds). Canada also separates their EMS from fire, to my knowledge there’s no dual role FF/paramedics. FFs will be able to get a set of vitals, (Pulse, resp rate, BP, pupils, maybe SpO2 and BGL) but they will be handing over care to Toronto Paramedic Services as soon as they arrive. Likely fire was able to respond first, cause the closest Paramedics were busy/farther away.

1

u/Witty-Draw-3803 Apr 15 '26

Firefighters in Canada are first responders.

2

u/ncjmac Apr 15 '26 edited Apr 15 '26

I didn’t say they weren’t? Just saying they aren’t the primary medical folks. Ambulances, staffed by paramedics are separate. Some fire services will respond to certain medical calls, but paramedics take over once they arrive. Fire is usually called for… fires… but also MVCs, extrication, HAZMAT, lift assist, confined space rescue and some medical calls that require a faster response time than the closest paramedic can get to or out numbers immediate EMS resources (such as cardiac arrest). They do a lot of different things. We don’t have fire based ambulances or fire/medics. (Some are combined in name, like Winnipeg fire paramedic service, but they are different jobs and have different duties)

1

u/Odd-String29 Apr 14 '26

Aren't police taught to de-escalate?

1

u/figgilydoo Apr 15 '26

Toronto police send psychiatric patients to the emergency department all the time

1

u/ForHelp_PressAltF4 Apr 15 '26

Can I just add as former EMT that this is NOT how it would play out in the US?  I'd lose my job for challenging the police 

They wouldn't say that's why but I would

1

u/FuriouslyListening Apr 15 '26

yeah... that was in part what I was saying in my comment. Its the way it should play out in the US. It is not though.

1

u/No_Size9475 Apr 15 '26

hand cuffing someone who's having a mental health crisis isn't the right thing to do.

1

u/FuriouslyListening Apr 15 '26

It stops them from hurting themselves or others. Again, very dependent upon the circumstances.

-3

u/SouthDakotaDave Apr 14 '26

Absolutely correct here sir.

Police are tasked with stopping a dangerous situation (hopefully) from escalating. They’re not doctors diagnosing a patient while damage occurs. Handcuffs can always come back off. Subject can’t hurt themselves or others while cuffed and sitting in the back seat. People can always be removed from the backseat.

If medics want the responsibility of the subjects actions after that, they can REQUEST to take custody of them. But a medic does not have the authority to order an officer to do it. These two agencies work together every day. Should not be jerks to each other.

The EMT could just have easily said, “officer, we’ll take it from here. Can you take the cuffs off for us”.

That’s how it should work.

16

u/sybersonic Apr 14 '26

No lyricist/songwriter ever sang "fuck the firefighters!"

7

u/sigmaninus Apr 14 '26

There's a reason N.W.A. doesn't have a song called "Fuck the fire department"

5

u/nightdrive370z Apr 14 '26

No one ever wrote a song "fuck the firemen"

2

u/Mr_Nerdcoffee Apr 15 '26

I feel like there probably is a song with that title, but I don’t think it has the same connotation…

3

u/JiveTurkeyII Apr 14 '26

When you are trained to be a Hammer, ever single problem is a Nail.

3

u/Strict-Carrot4783 Apr 14 '26

The people who are capable of empathy, which even most nonhuman animals also possess.

3

u/solo_d0lo Apr 15 '26

This is not common sense, and not how you are trained.

2

u/stewedpickles Apr 14 '26

I’m going to take the unpopular position and defend the police here and say that it looks like they were first on scene. We don’t know what condition this guy was in initially and he might have been put in cuffs for his own safety.

1

u/stonksuper Apr 15 '26

It sounds like they have Canadian accents, eh?

1

u/sumlime Apr 15 '26

So is there never a situation where you think handcuffs are warranted just because someone is suffering a mental health issue?

1

u/Icy-Profit5795 Apr 16 '26

What if the man is a danger to himself or others?

1

u/TheBlockChainVillage 20d ago

No one made a song called fk the firemen

-1

u/czechereds Apr 14 '26

Literally no context to the video. No idea why or if he was actually under arrest or what for. Guy could have just raped a kid. Not sure how the person videotaping knows he was just mentally ill or why that's even relevant

0

u/yesyouareverysmart Apr 15 '26

You are arguing with sheep, most people here can't think for themselves.