O.C.G.A. § 16-10-24.2 (2019)
Obstructing or hindering emergency medical technicians or emergency medical professionals; criminal penalty
(a) As used in this Code section, the term: (1) ‘‘Emergency medical professional’’ means any person performing emergency medical services who is licensed or certified to provide health care in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 11, Chapter 26, or Chapter 34 of Title 43. (2) ‘‘Emergency medical technician’’ means any person who has been certified as an emergency medical technician, cardiac technician, paramedic, or first responder pursuant to Chapter 11 of Title 31. (b) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c) of this Code section, a person who knowingly and willfully obstructs or hinders any emergency medical technician, any emergency medical professional, or any properly identified person working under the direction of an emergency medical professional in the lawful discharge of the official duties of such emergency medical technician, emergency medical professional, or properly identified person working under the direction of an emergency medical professional is guilty of a misdemeanor. (c) Whoever knowingly and willfully resists or obstructs any emergency medical technician, any emergency medical professional, or any properly identified person working under the direction of an emergency medical professional in the lawful discharge of the official duties of the emergency medical technician, emergency medical professional, or properly identified person working under the direction of an emergency medical professional by threatening or doing violence to the person of such emergency medical technician, emergency medical professional, or properly identified person working under the direction of an emergency medical professional is guilty of a felony and shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five years.
History
(Code 1981, § 16-10-24.2, enacted by Ga. L. 1994, p. 331, § 1; Ga. L. 1996, p. 835, § 1; Ga. L. 1999, p. 81, § 16.)
Annotations
JUDICIAL DECISIONS Evidence sufficient to support conviction. - Defendant violated O.C.G.A. § 16-10-24.2 by threatening EMT’s, ordering them to leave a public street, and otherwise preventing them from provid-
ing medical treatment to a reportedly poisoned child even though it was later determined that the child did not need medical attention. Strickland v. State, 221 Ga. App. 516, 471 S.E.2d 576 (1996).