The arrest of a Baltimore City medic for assaulting a combative patient has the firefighter’s union angry as they stand behind the medic.
Medic Shaun White, 31, was charged last Friday with second degree assault following an incident that occurred on September 8, 2012. The patient, a female allegedly suffering from an overdose, was combative and had to be restrained.
Baltimore City Firefighters Local 734’s president Rick Hoffman claims he watched a video of the incident and said the arrest was uncalled for. He was quoted as saying “… maybe the level of patient care not being as good as it should be. I’ll accept that. An arrest, no way in hell.”
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I am a paramedic and I have 1 question – Where were the police when the paramedics were dispatched to an overdose call? These calls tend to get violent and EMT’s and paramedics get hurt. In my view, the medics were left to defend themselves by the city and that is wrong. I would bet my career that this patient either spit at or swung at the paramedic and that wasn’t caught on tape.
I agree with the above comment. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve had a seemingly calm patient get HIGHLY combative. What if the medic in question didn’t do anything and say….the stretcher tipped as a result of the patient being non-compliant?
On 10/16 the SA declined to prosecute and the charges were dismissed.
Thank you Jeff