As a former EMT, I agree with all of that and more.howdy wrote:I am a Paramedic and I agree with Joe 817. You don't do CPR unless the guy in pulseless and not breathing. (if he is pulseless, he will not be breathing long.) Even as a Paramedic, my last thought after shooting someone would be to do CPR on him. First off, I am not going to shoot someone unless they really, really scared the heck out of me and put me in fear of my or my families life. I am going to seek cover, call 911, and let the Police respond. I will tell 911 that the BG was shot and to please send an ambulance. The ambulance will park some distance from the scene until they are told by LE that it is safe to come to the scene. CPR moves the blood around in the body, and most people who die from a gunshot wound die from massive internal bleeding. The heart is a pump, and like all pumps, it needs something to pump in order to work. Also, only blood carries Oxygen to the cells, and no amount of fluid that EMS gives can move that Oxygen. The guy needs a surgeon, and that normally means a Trauma Center. The odds are not real good that you will be able to save the guy.
And then there is the fact that TV shows are works of fiction, by the unknowing for the uncaring, even the news.
If it's a news piece, don't count on the reporter having any idea what he/she is talking about, "began CPR" sounds more impressive than "began treatment," and how many times have you heard them report that the weapon used in such and such a crime was "a high caliber assault rifle" as if such a thing existed.