FYI from a field medic.....I've carried both. It was very common to carry cuffs where I worked in NYC. I know many medics/emts who did. No they are NOT "approved"...but neither were some of the other things that "we" carried. No we didn't usually go in on violent patients when we were alone.....but then a lot of patients that 'weren't violent' turned that way very quickly...and when the cops weren't there....then we needed something to secure them FAST! Usually they'd get cuffed in some way:either hands together or at least one of them to the stretcher so that we only had one hand to 'worry about'. After we got them 'secured in the (soft restraints/Bellvue sandwhich) equipment...then the cuffs would come off. They were a stop gap to allow us to time to properly restrain them.

If reference to 'uncuffing' a patient that was under arrest....I've had quite a few 'prisoners' who were cuffed (behind the back) that after a short while became very medically unstable. Some of them needed Endotrachael Intubation (tube into the trachea (lungs) to breathe for them). It is very difficult to place someone flat on their back when their hands are cuffed behind them. In that case they'd be quickly uncuffed and cuffed to the stretcher...despite the fact that they may no longer have been breathing....they were still cuffed to the stretcher.

Other times I've had cops "follow" us to the hospital with the someone in custody in my bus. Sometimes they would 'take their time' getting there (Oh I got stuck at a light).....in that case we were able to temporarily remove a cuff to move the patient from our stretcher....the cop had cuff him to it. This happened several times despite our requesting that they NOT do so. Once we got to the hospital and had enough people to safely 'cover the patient' we could open them.

Some 'perps', once they settled down, would sometimes realize that "we" (EMS) were not the ones they were ticked off at. Sometimes they would actually apologize to us and become an almost completely different person....no we still didn't trust them...but we did build a rapport with them and they would relax with us and not be so violent. Sometimes we would actually get some better results from them since we weren't trying to 'fight' them.

It was/is always a 'judgement' call. I am fortunate to have enough experience to make that call...I had excellent people teach me....I wouldn't even try to explain how to make that judgement in a post....you need LOTS of hands on time in an area and with people who know what and how to really teach you.

Most importantly......OUR safety is ALWAYS FIRST !!!!!We go home alive tonight....Thus endeth the lesson.