Today’s question comes from a paramedic 

… concerned by recent news of NSW Police assaulting a patient being wheeled into a hospital. Can you please help me to understand the ability; if it exists for a Paramedic to step in and ask or physically stop the police officer from assaulting the patient, and or does the patients care ultimately lie with the police if in police custody rather than the Paramedics. I acknowledge the policing is one of the hardest and most unsupported jobs out there, but when is too far, and what is my responsibility as a paramedic to ensure patients safety is upheld. 

I would also note my concern for paramedic integration with the police tactical operations unit and their almost indistinguishable uniform, should paramedics not be seen as independent healthcare providers? 

My correspondent doesn’t identify the ‘recent news’ but I infer that it is the story reported on ABC – see 

Lia Harris, ‘Steven Hyde keeps job with NSW Police despite assault on man on hospital stretcher’ ABC News(Online) 10 September 2026 available at https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-10/cctv-vision-nsw-police-officer-punching-man-in-stretcher/107137368.

Of course a paramedic has the ability to step in and intervene if a police officer is assaulting his or her patient though I would caution, except in the most extreme cases, against using physical force. 

The police are responsible for their job which can include detaining a person and they have a responsibility to ensure the safety of those that they detain.  They can also use reasonable force when lawfully arresting someone or exercising other powers (Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (NSW) ss 230 and 231). 

Reasonable force may also be used in self-defence and the defence of others (Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) ss 418-423).  Section 418(2) says:

A person carries out conduct in self-defence if and only if the person believes the conduct is necessary–

(a) to defend himself or herself or another person, or

(b) to prevent or terminate the unlawful deprivation of his or her liberty or the liberty of another person, or

(c) to protect property from unlawful taking, destruction, damage or interference, or

(d) to prevent criminal trespass to any land or premises or to remove a person committing any such criminal trespass,

and the conduct is a reasonable response in the circumstances as he or she perceives them.

Section 422 says:

This Division is not excluded merely because–

(a) the conduct to which the person responds is lawful

The Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) s 60 says:

(1AA) A person who hinders … a police officer in the execution of the officer’s duty commits an offence.

: Maximum penalty– Imprisonment for 12 months or a fine of 20 penalty units or both.

(1) A person who assaults, … a police officer while in the execution of the officer’s duty, although no actual bodily harm is occasioned to the officer, is liable to imprisonment for 5 years…

(2) A person who assaults a police officer while in the execution of the officer’s duty, and by the assault occasions actual bodily harm, is liable to imprisonment for 7 years…

Discussion

One can see the problem. Where a police officer is using force against someone, another person – in the context of this discussion, a paramedic – thinks the force is excessive.  If the force is excessive then the police officer is not acting in the execution of his or her duty as it is not part of their duty to unlawfully assault a person. The person may be justified in using force to resist the arrest and, at the end of the day, may be acquitted of an offence under s 60 (see for example Tasmania – Alcohol affected patient refuses treatment and is not guilty of assaulting police – Part 1 (October 5, 2015) and also follow the links from Part 1 to Parts 2, 3 and 4).  A paramedic may also be entitled to use force to protect the patient (s 418).

But the police officer is unlikely to say ‘oh yes, I was doing the wrong thing, that’s fine’. He or she, and their colleagues, are going to see the paramedic ‘hindering’ and perhaps ‘assaulting’ their colleague and no doubt are going to intervene.  The police have the benefit of being equipped with batons, capsicum spray, handcuffs and, ultimately, a gun.  It is not going to end well for the intervening paramedic.  They also have the systems in place and know how to put the matter before the court.  

What is reasonable force may be a matter on which minds may differ and is hard to judge in the circumstances. The paramedic may think the police were over-reacting. The police may think what they did was reasonable. Even if it turns out the police action was lawful the defendant paramedic could still argue self-defence if he or had the state of mind required by s 418. In the case reported by the ABC we know, given the outcome, that despite Leading Senior Constable Hyde’s assertion he was acting in self-defence, this was rejected by both the Local and the District Court so we know that the force used was not ‘reasonable’. But the event happened in 2023 and was not resolved until 2026!  A paramedic who intervened may have faced a charge under s 60. They may in due course, have been acquitted but if that takes three years and the cost of running a defence it is a very high cost. 

Hence, I would not recommend attempting to ‘physically stop the police officer from assaulting the patient’ except in the most extreme circumstances such as where the officer is kneeling on the patient’s neck and the patient is struggling to say ‘I can’t breathe’. 

The fact that a person is in police custody does not however deny that a health professional has professional and ethical responsibilities. If you think the person needs health care, or that the police are compromising their care or that the police are over-reacting and using unreasonable force you should raise your concerns, if not with the police officer then with his or her colleagues.  There is nothing to stop you taking out your phone and recording what is going on. Make notes. Give the person your contact details and tell them if they want to take it further to contact you.  Make a complaint.  I don’t pretend that any of this would be easy and it would heighten tensions and police and ambulance officers have to work together and trust each other.  But if the person makes a complaint to police about the paramedics they are not going to not investigate because they like paramedics.  Organised criminals may depend on a ‘Code of silence’ but neither ambulance officers, paramedics or police should engage in a similar practice to avoid scrutiny. If you think the police are mistreating someone, and in particular someone you have been called to care for or are caring for, then it is your duty to at least record what you observed even if you chose not to escalate matters by intervention at the time. The greater the risk of course, the more immediate action is called for.  

For related posts see 

The uniform

As for ‘paramedic integration with the police tactical operations unit and their almost indistinguishable uniform, should paramedics not be seen as independent healthcare providers’ I don’t think that raises a legal issue. Yes paramedics are ‘independent health providers’ and a patient may be confused and less trusting if they appear to be part of the tactical response team, but in the sort of events where there is a tactical response that may be the least of everyone’s concerns. I recall ‘back in my day’ standing by at a fight when both NSW ambulance and NSW police wore matching blue shirts and trying to convince someone that I was with the ambulance and not the police did give rise to a moment of tension! Fortunately his more sober mates could tell the difference.

This blog is a general discussion of legal principles only.  It is not legal advice. Do not rely on the information here to make decisions regarding your legal position or to make decisions that affect your legal rights or responsibilities. For advice on your particular circumstances always consult an admitted legal practitioner in your state or territory.