The first time that Rita Manfredi, MD, FACEP, was assaulted in the emergency department (ED), she was five months pregnant. The emergency physician ducked her chin to her chest just in time to avoid being kicked in the throat by an agitated female patient who was wearing heavy boots and sitting between two security guards. “I walked out of the room on these very jelly-filled legs and said, ‘I think we need some help in there,’” Dr. Manfredi recalled.