Trisha Preston was transporting a patient in a mental health crisis in the back of her ambulance when suddenly the woman undid her seatbelt, jumped off the gurney and began attacking the veteran paramedic, punching her and pulling her hair.
The uptick in violence is so severe that the private ambulance company that holds Portland's 911 contract is training more than 500 of its employees in defensive tactics.
The severity appears to be increasing," said Robert McDonald, an operations manager with
American Medical Response.