It was back about 1972 that I was a volunteer with a local ambulance crew. Two carnival workers got into a drunken brawl in a local park and one needed transport to a local emergency room.

There were other patients in the ER, unrelated to the fight incident.We took the carny, who had a bloody skull, to his bed and closed the curtain. The lone doctor on duty was very busy.Before long, another individual came to the ER seeking treatment. It was the other brawl participant.The guy we brought by ambulance got off the bed and ran away. The other dude was agitated and started raising a fuss. He had to be restrained. Fortunately, nobody else got hurt - no doctor, no nurse, no other patient.What rekindled the memory of that late night incident was reading that federal and state authorities are investigating Lehigh Valley Hospital because there were stun guns used on unruly patients four times since 2008, in violation of state and federal health rules.Obviously the rule makers have no idea what goes on in emergency rooms or they wouldn't make such restrictive policies. They don't see the drunks brought in after barroom brawls. They don't see the dudes who are high - and combative - on drugs.Such individuals are not only a danger to the personnel in the ERs, they terrorize other patients - many who come here in great pain; they often cause damage to expensive equipment, and they transform a safe haven for individuals needing medical treatment into a harmful environment.The state and federal health rules banning stun guns by hospital security workers needs to be changed. Security staff should have such restraint mechanisms, but only after appropriate training.Not every person coming into the ER is someone seeking treatment for an appendicitis or a child needing a nail removed from his foot.Sometimes the people who come to the ERs are violently drunk, unmercifully high on illegal drugs, dangerous criminals, or mentally ill people who threaten anyone around them - including someone who might be lying prone on a hospital bed.Don't penalize Lehigh Valley Hospital for allowing security guards to keep the emergency rooms safe. Instead, listen to reality. Know that there are people who do pose threats to any safe environment. Give the security guards the tools they need to protect others - tools such as Taser guns.We've covered court proceedings where emergency room personnel were abused by patients. Not everyone entering the ER is a nice person. It naive to think so.When the abusive patient is 6-3, 220 pounds, and literally out of his mind, then security must have the equipment to stop him as soon as possible.Guidelines should be made regarding when stun guns can be use. But prohibiting them is not only wrong, it's also foolish.By Ron Gowerrgower@tnonline.com