Lone paramedic ambushed for drugs

[five_alarm]

TORONTO, ON - Two women faked a medical call and ambushed a paramedic in an attempt to steal drugs earlier this week, Toronto police say. As a result, paramedics will no longer work alone during the 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. shifts. "We have now discontinued our single-response unit ... until we look at all the issues a little bit further," Toronto EMS chief Bruce Farr told thestar.com today. The paramedic, a veteran with more than 10 years' experience, received a concussion, dislocated shoulder and broken ribs. He was treated and released from hospital. Farr said he will be off work for several weeks. The trap was set when the emergency worker was flagged down Monday near Church and Wood Sts. in the downtown core. The paramedic stopped at around 10:30 p.m. to find one woman pointing at another, who was lying motionless on the street. The attendant quickly got out of the vehicle to check on what he thought was the patient. But the woman who had alerted him grabbed him from behind and held a syringe to his neck, demanding drugs. The paramedic refused, fought off the assailants, then radioed for help. The women fled down Church St. before help arrived and police are looking for two women in their 20s. EMS spokesperson Peter MacIntyre said paramedics carry only tiny quantities of some narcotics, and said that many cardiac-care drugs they carry could be lethal if taken improperly.

Source: The Toronto Star (http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1098438378682&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154&DPL=IvsNDS/7ChAX&tacodalogin=yes)

[five_alarm]

TORNNTO, ON - A paramedic who said he was attacked by a syringe-wielding woman and robbed while on duty last month has been charged with mischief after police concluded the incident didn't happen. "A story like this instils fear in the public; it's pretty traumatic," Toronto police Detective Hugh Wong said yesterday. "It's good to know people aren't running around attacking paramedics and robbing them." Police launched the four-week investigation after a paramedic claimed a woman flagged him down, pointing to a woman lying on the street on Oct. 18. When he pulled over and got out of the ambulance in the Church and Wood Sts. neighbourhood, she put an arm around his neck and held a syringe to it, he claimed. The paramedic reported that she demanded narcotics he had in his truck. He claimed that when he refused, both women punched him in the head. Wong said that from a combination of interviews and "forensic evidence gathered at the scene, certain things appeared to be conflicting, so we were able to determine that the original story was false. "These women did not exist. Definitely not."

Source: Toronto Star (http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1100645411000&call_pageid=970599119419)

[five_alarm]

TORONTO, ON - A Toronto paramedic admitted in court he partially fabricated a story about having a needle put to his neck by two women trying to rob him of drugs. Allan Gordon Rae, 38, pleaded guilty yesterday to public mischief for lying to police about the Oct. 18, 2004, incident that triggered Toronto's ambulance service to stop using one-person emergency response units at night. It then switched to two-person units from 7 p.m. until 7 a.m.Source: torontosun.com (http://torontosun.com/News/TorontoAndGTA/2006/06/14/1631202-sun.html)

[FLASHOVER05]

That's embarassing to say the least. To see someone who is to be trusted by the public to do something like this is silly.

[MFDFF33]

That's embarassing to say the least. To see someone who is to be trusted by the public to do something like this is silly.

To say the least... at least now they have 2 man trucks.

[Ladymedic]

I understand the point he was trying to make, personally I think 1 person first response units are ridiculous in this day and age. No one should be walking into any residence alone at any time. I don't care what the call comes in as. Unfortunately he went about it the wrong way. Lost his career, the respect of his peers and my bet is they go or went right back to single responders.

[FitSsikS]

I always thought that if he had a noble reason (like man power issues and safety) then maybe
his actions were......

But in the article it says...

"There was no apparent motive for the crime."

[dentedhead]

To say the least... at least now they have 2 man trucks.

They always did have.The zoom cars were clock stoppers.They are a great resource when used properly.

Dentedhead

[oldboot]

I understand the point he was trying to make, personally I think 1 person first response units are ridiculous in this day and age. No one should be walking into any residence alone at any time. I don't care what the call comes in as. Unfortunately he went about it the wrong way. Lost his career, the respect of his peers and my bet is they go or went right back to single responders.

You have got to be kidding?

You understand his point he was making……..LOL
This guy fabricated this wild story in his twisted little mind for his own self-image.
He was glory seeking plane and simple.
He got the attention he was seeking; however it might not have been the publicity that he was looking for.

Toronto does run with a single in a response unit however a 2 man crew is always dispatched at the same time.
Besides, usually by the time they arrive there are three firefighters inside waiting for them.
This paramedic is no one’s hero!

oldboot

[dentedhead]

I understand the point he was trying to make, personally I think 1 person first response units are ridiculous in this day and age. No one should be walking into any residence alone at any time. I don't care what the call comes in as. Unfortunately he went about it the wrong way. Lost his career, the respect of his peers and my bet is they go or went right back to single responders.

I dont quite unnderstand his point to be honest.I vaguely new this guy,he always did seem just a tad different than the rest of the herd.

Response cars are a great asset when used correctly especially with the way things are going in most urban EMS systems.I have argued for a long time there is nothing that can happen to you at 02:00 that cant happen at 14:00.Its all about using your common sense and experience regarding when to enter and when to wait.Id bet that if you showed up on an R-car and decided to wait for the 10-200s you would do the same if you were in a regular ambulance.Also in TO I would bet 99.9% of the time TFD and/or MTP are on scene with you.

This guy is a dick plain and simple.He has given the profession another black eye and made it more difficult for anyone to believe if it REALLY happens.

Dentedhead

[dentedhead]

You have got to be kidding?

You understand his point he was making……..LOL
This guy fabricated this wild story in his twisted little mind for his own self-image.
He was glory seeking plane and simple.
He got the attention he was seeking; however it might not have been the publicity that he was looking for.

Toronto does run with a single in a response unit however a 2 man crew is always dispatched at the same time.
Besides, usually by the time they arrive there are three firefighters inside waiting for them.
This paramedic is no one’s hero!

oldboot

You should have read his blow by blow account that he put up on the TOEMS list server it was increible, yet almost believable.It involved heroic fights descriptive bludgeonings with the cardiac monitor etc.

Attention seeking nah dont see it:rolleyes:

Dentedhead