The National St John Ambulance Service is concerned about an incident involving an assault on an Ambulance officer in Lae on Monday, May 27th. The Station Commander of the Lae Ambulance station Benjamin Ume, and his crew, while responding to an emergency in Wagang Village, were verbally and physically assaulted. This attack was committed by an intoxicated young man under the influenced of alcohol who grabbed Commander Ume’s shirt and attempted to break the ambulance windows. Commander Ume managed to deflect his attacker and immediately call for backup. Ume expressed his disheartening concern the community member enforced on him during their emergency operation. “There should be support from the community and obstructions to disturb our efforts to provide emergency medical assistance.” “It’s disheartening to be attacked like that while responding to an emergency case in the community.” “We have men and women in our team.” “I was able to defend myself, but what if it was a woman or someone unable to defend themselves?” Though throwing rocks at the ambulance has been a sad theme in the outskirts of Lae City, this escalation to physical violence towards emergency ambulance officers is concerning. Meanwhile, Executive Director Ambulance Service, Terence Torea further underscored the urgent need for legislative protection for ambulance workers. "The National St John Ambulance Service in Lae, Port Moresby, Central Province, East New Britain, Mt Hagen, and soon-to-be-established units in Gulf, Goroka and Hela deserve a safe working environment.” “This statutory organization provides ambulance services on behalf of the National Department of Health and calls for immediate action to enact laws that protect our personnel." The National St John Ambulance Service remains committed to serving the public and ensuring the safety and security of its dedicated ambulance officers. “We urge the community to stand with us in supporting and protecting those who provide critical emergency services.”