Wow, just wow.

[Handsome Robb]

That's about all I can say about this. :angry:

And we wonder why people call us ambulance drivers and we don't get the respect we 'deserve'?

http://www.ems1.com/ems-news/1214960-medic-accused-of-rape-inside-ambulance/

The 22-year-old woman, who had fallen and suffered a concussion at a holiday party, says she woke up to find the man assaulting her inside the ambulance on Dec. 25, according to Hamden police. She said she could not move because she was strapped down.

 

[DesertMedic66]

If it turns out to be true then all I can say is wow and how sad.

If it turns out to be false then all I can say is wow and how sad.

 

[abckidsmom]

A medic with whom I am extremely close, who I find to be completely trustworthy and regularly trust with my life had a very similar allegation not long ago.

He found the whole thing to be terrifying, and the only reason it wasn't on the news was because they had a third rider in the back that the patient didn't know was there. The third was sitting in the captain's chair throughout the entire transport.

If there was no witness, it would have been completely "he said, she said," and would have been a career ender.

How do we feel about cameras in the back of the ambulance now?

 

[Farmer2DO]

As said above, it's still an allegation. We still have the presumption of innocence. At least, we should.....

Also, virtuous conduct and the horror implied by the lack of it are not solely the property of EMS. We recently had a police officer in our area go to state prison for targeting high risk females (on parole and probation) doing things they shouldn't (drinking and driving etc) and offering not to violate them in exchange for sex. For anyone to imply that everyone else is above this is full of $hit.

The police, chief, in my opinion, should have kept his mouth shut. He has nothing more than an allegation right now, but he got up on his soapbox and railed against the "outrageous and horrifying conduct" carried out by an EMS professional, and that "the circumstances in this case represent a tremendous breach of that faith." Sounds to me like he's already got him tried and convicted. How about letting it play out in the court? If this man turns out to be falsely accused, he will never recover the damage that has been done to his reputation.

Shame on the police chief.

 

[akflightmedic]

Still against them....industry wide knee jerk reaction to a very rare number of calls with accusations does not justify it.

 

[JPINFV]

How do we feel about cameras in the back of the ambulance now?

At EMS Expo, it looks like a lot of companies are starting to add cameras to help record who gets into the controlled substances safe. One of the representatives related a similar story (patient accused a lone paramedic of misconduct), but the camera supported and saved the paramedic.

 

[JPINFV]

How about letting it play out in the court?

Hahahaha. This is AMERICA. We live off of convicting people on the less than half of the information that is available outside of the court.

Examples:
Michael Jackson (the pedo thing, not the propofol thing)
Casey Anthony
OJ Simpson (the murder thing, not the hotel break in).

 

[firetender]

We are not immune...

... from having loose cannons on our deck.

If true this is really a "one in a million" case considering there are over a million EMTs (all levels) in the U.S. and thank God for that!

Our patients are vulnerable to all sorts of assaults, many of which go unnoted. Like in any profession, there are those amongst us that are completely aberrant. We're still people and not all of our wiring is pristine!

Let's take a "wait and see" on this one...I read this as an accusation, not a reality as yet.

 

[R99]

Had a guy here get canned because a patient said he touched her while checking to see if she was crowning meaning he will never work in the country again, good paramedic too, well yeah

If this guy is innocent then good luck to him is all I can say

 

[bigbaldguy]

An excellent example of why additional professional liability insurance is a really good idea.

 

[sdover]

maybe cameras in the ambulance are a good idea? that way it is not relying on "he said, she said"

 

[Handsome Robb]

Now where do patient privacy laws come into play with a camera in the box?

 

[bstone]

In the he-said/she-said situations with no witnesses you have to rely upon several other factors. Is there any physical evidence (fluids, fibers, etc)? Does the medic have any previous history? Does the "victim" have any history of false police reports? I'd be interested to see the final result of the investigation.

 

[Martyn]

OK, so where was the partner in all this? Hiding?

 

[JPINFV]

OK, so where was the partner in all this? Hiding?

...driving...

 

[Handsome Robb]

...driving...

Our units have pass throughs...I can see the box pretty fell in the rear view mirror...

 

[JPINFV]

Our units have pass throughs...I can see the box pretty fell in the rear view mirror...

I can too, but that doesn't mean I'm noticing everything that's going on in the back. Sure, I might notice if someone is standing, but I'm going to click off the "someone's standing" mental check box and get my eyes back on the road.

 

[Shishkabob]

True or not, Any decent defense lawyer will rip her story to shreds with "how can she prove ANYTHING when she had a loss of consciousness and a concussion?". Granted we don't know the full details, but unless there's actual physical evidence, I don't see her "winning".

Chances are, this is a false allegation, like most often are. I hope it turns out to not be true, but it wouldn't be the first time it would be true.




I once had a young female patient act REALLY weird when it was just her and I in the back, stating stuff like she didn't want any more fentanyl because it made her feel fuzzy and she wanted to be fully alert, asked if we had cameras in the box, and when I pointed it out, asked if they recorded, etc etc.

Believe you me, first thing my partner and I did was contact our supervisor, write and CC emails about the incident, and tell the doctor at the hospital. Even the doctor got a strange feeling about her when it was just him and her alone in the room.

 

[Aidey]

Good grief, since when were assault and rape the same thing? Talk about an inflammatory headline. I bet if she had actually accused him of rape he would have been arrested ASAP, not 2 weeks later.

What I found interesting is that various news agencies have reported that the assault lasted 5-7 seconds and he is being charged with unlawful restraint.

Now, I suspect she was on a back board, so is that what they are considering restrained? And 5-7 seconds is a very specific amount of time for a disoriented/semi-conscious person to come up with. While there are definitely EMTs/Paramedics who commit crimes in the back of the amb, this is one of the less believable reports IMO. I also agree that the officials should have kept their mouths shut, or else said something a little less one sided.

 

[Aidey]

Our units have pass throughs...I can see the box pretty fell in the rear view mirror...

You're assuming the driver was using it. My last partner barely ever used the rear-view mirror, and was generally oblivious to what was going on in the back.