CLEVELAND, Ohio — The University Circle Police Department will host free self-defense courses for healthcare workers and first responders who often face violent situations without protective equipment.
Two training sessions are scheduled at the department’s facility at 12100 Euclid Ave. The first, on Dec. 15 from 6:30 to 8 p.m., is designed for paramedics, EMTs and crisis intervention specialists. The second, on Jan. 21 from 6:30 to 8 p.m., will focus on nursing professionals and students.
University Circle Police Chief Thomas Wetzel said the training addresses a critical safety gap. While police officers carry firearms, Tasers, pepper spray, batons and wear bulletproof vests, healthcare workers and other responders often face dangerous situations with little protection.
The courses will cover control tactics for managing violent individuals, self-defense techniques and verbal de-escalation strategies.
Officer Jeremy Prokop, a federally certified defensive tactics instructor and owner of Grindstone Jiu-Jitsu Training Center, will lead the sessions. He will also conduct a Disabilities Self-Defense and Safety class on Dec. 4 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the UCI Community Room, 10831 Magnolia Drive.
Police departments note that encounters with unstable individuals can quickly escalate, putting healthcare workers and first responders at risk of injury.
Timothy Sommerfelt, vice president of the Cleveland Association for Rescue Employees, said serious attacks on EMS workers that result in prosecutions have increased each year: six in 2023, 10 in 2024, and 12 so far this year.
Recent incidents include a paramedic whose hair was pulled during a call and two paramedics who suffered severe arm and wrist injuries in an October 2024 attack. Neither has been able to return to work.
Sommerfelt emphasized that assaults on EMS workers are unacceptable.
“At the end of the day, our EMS workers just want to help the community and then go home to their families,” he said.
