EMS Worker Assaulted On Scene For 'Not Doing Job'

[N1Medic 69]

Another EMS worker gets attacked. From what I hear, this kind of situation that led up to this happens often in Newark....dangerous city.

Man accused of attack on EMS worker

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

BY JONATHAN SCHUPPE

Star-Ledger Staff

The friend of a Newark man who was shot and died later Sunday attacked an EMS worker who arrived to help, police said.

The shooting victim, Johnny Collier, 24, was gunned down at the corner of 12th Avenue and South Sixth Street about 4:15 p.m., police said. A team of EMS workers from nearby University Hospital showed up about three minutes later.

An off-duty Newark police officer, Cornel Irving, happened to be driving by and stopped to see if he could help, police said. Irving saw one of the EMS workers, William Muirhead, getting kicked in the face by a man later identified as Kevin Little, 24, of Irvington. Throughout the assault, Little was complaining that Muirhead "wasn't doing his job," according to police.

Irving pulled Little off Muirhead and held him until more officers ar rived. Little was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and possession of marijuana, police said.

Collier, meanwhile, was taken to University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a few minutes later, police said.

Muirhead was taken in a separate ambulance to the hospital, where he was treated for cuts to his mouth and a dislocated jaw, police said.

[Guest]

MY PRAYERS TO YOU AND TO THE POWERS THAT BE WE DON'T NEED TO PROTECT OURSELVES THIS JOB IS NOT DANGEROUS << NOTE MY SARCASM

[WAS967 97]

First thing I'd ask is why was an EMS crew on scene when it was unsecured by PD?

[Guest WolfEMT]

First thing I'd ask is why was an EMS crew on scene when it was unsecured by PD?

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In some places in NJ, PD doesn't go to EMS calls. I don't know if the same is true for Newark, but about 20 minutes east of my town is Asbury Park, which has the same general type of gun violence as Newark does, and PD very very rarely arrives to assist EMTs and Medics at scenes.

[20y2 43]

In some places in NJ, PD doesn't go to EMS calls. I don't know if the same is true for Newark, but about 20 minutes east of my town is Asbury Park, which has the same general type of gun violence as Newark does, and PD very very rarely arrives to assist EMTs and Medics at scenes.

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That's not 'just' an EMS call, its an assault, PD is mandated to come.

[WAS967 97]

Agreed. If the dispatch information comes over as an assault, GSW, riot, unruly crowd, etc etc, then you will be damn sure I'll be sitting on a street corner a few blocks away until the scene is secured. We aren't armed, we aren't trained in restraint, a lot of EMTs don't know simple self defense techniques, and simply put, we don't get paid enough to have the crap kicked out of us (or worse).

[IzzyEng4 427]

SCENE SAFTEY!!!!

Isn't that what the first this is taught in EMT class along with BSI? A shooting or violent situation need PD on scene to secure it before we treat people.

I am not saying that the EMT's actions were wrong at all, he had a duty to act to help the man that was shot. But we have to have a red flag raised when something like this doesn't happen again. The EMT was doing the right thing but you can be complacent (not saying he was).

If you don;t hear dispatch say PD is enrough or the scene is clear to enter, then ask for it. As a dispatcher and a road EMT, I have seen both sides. I was assulted my self at a call with the PD on scene, thankfully I wasn't hurt.

[x129K 1,393]

Some guys get all the luck........7 years in the Y.O. and not once did someone try to kick my tail.

[Guest]

I work in the city where this assault occurred. Normally a Newark Police unit would be at these types of incidents. On this occasion this happened about 200' from The station. In this City if the ambulance did not start to treat the patient prior to PD arrival another crew would become the subject of gang violence. This was a gang related shooting! If you speak to someone from another VERY Busy and VIOLENT system they too have times where they beat PD to the incident. Once you come around the corner is it safer to treat they patient as quick as possible (load and Leave around the corner, treat then go to hospital) or try to pull away with 200 to 300 people climbing on your ambulance and pulling weapons on you shooting at the truck? I can tell you we have had both and it is much safer in this city to load and get out of there than to go around the corner and wait for the stolen car of the victims friends(gang members) to drive around and find you and start shooting while waiting for the PD units to show up. In a large city that is extremely busy you can not always get a police car to arrive in a timely manner. EMS does in the area of 140,000 calls a year handled by a combination of 7 24 hour ambulances and 5 12 hour peak units. The police average well over 1.5 million calls a year. Some times your ETA puts you on the scene before you can get an ETA from PD. In the past when units wait for PD EMS receives a lot of problems from the citizens. In a busy system we have VERY VERY few problems like this. We actually have a great relationship overall with the people because they know we are there to just do our job and not get involved in anything else. I belonged to a volunteer department for a long time and have worked in this City for 19 years. This city is different. It is hard to understand until you have walked and worked in The City Of Newark.

[X615 0]

this "wolfpack" mentality gets more & more absurd. something happens they have no problem calling 911 but when you show up it's never fast enough & you're not doing enough to help them. like that was your intention when you took the job, to deprive people of emergency services. just ridiculous. they shoot at the cops, throw crap at the firefighters and now beating up ems workers. it's barbarian. if any group is neutral & should just be left alone to do their jobs it's ems. if these people, and i use that term loosely because acting like this is only borderline human maybe they should call one of those flame throwing, instigating "community leaders" or a voodoo priest to peform the resurections they insist upon and leave 911 for the people who appreciate it.

[Guest]

From the person who was involved

Greetings to the EMS community,

My name is Bill Muirhead, I'm the "hapless"

paramedic who got kicked in the face at a shooting job on 12th

Ave in Newark on 6/4/06. I've read the newspaper account of the

incident and I can quite assure all of you it is as convoluted as

the day is long. Please allow me to encapsulate the event.

My partner and I were returning to the EMS

complex from a job when we saw a body lying in the roadway at Sth

6th and 12. We approached the scene while radioing the apparent

circumstances to communications. Upon exiting the ambulance, my

partner and I were greeted by a retired Newark Police officer who

"stopped to help". It should be noted, N.P.D. and other UMD EMS

units were responding. While attending the corpse, my partner

retrieved the stretcher, all the while the retired officer was

keeping the other gangsters and on-lookers at bay. One subject

approached me and wanted to retrieve an item(later found to be a

gun) from the corpse. He was advised to back up by myself and the

retired officer. My partner returned with the stretcher, at which

time, the other gang member approached demanding I "take his pulse"

the subjet was advised to back up so I could get the victim on the

stretcher. I turned away from the suspect to lift the corpse, bent

over and got snuck by a hard boot to the face. The retired officer

intervened immediately and restrained the suspect for the first

arriving PD units. The body was placed in the ambulance along with

my partner and I, and communications was advised of the incident.

I find it disconcerting that I simply got

kicked in the mouth, albeit injured, but just kicked and it made

the newspaper. Countless other of my co-workers have gotten injured

by assault in a much grander fashion, that never makes the papers.

I know of 2 of my co-workers who are almost permanently debilitated.

As far as scene safety, and us coming first,

that is always rule #1, however, we at UMD, and to the best of my

knowledge every other EMS service cant simply wait in the wings

until protection arrives, unless of course you are getting shot

at or a group of locals are trying to flip your ambulance, or a

large armed group of gang members are waiting for you. all of the

aforementioned happens more frequently than not in Newark. So,

seeing a body in the roadway to us is the equivalent of other

communities EMS responding on a M.I. or abdominal pain.

I have learned a great deal from this

incident. 1) I love my partner Kristina dearly and thank her from

the bottom of my heart for all she has one for me. 2) I caved and

bought a vest. 3) My co-workers are the best I've ever worked with.

3) I can retire in 3 1/2 years and cant wait.

Thank you all for reading this. I truly hope

all of you, whereever you are stay safe and have agreat summer!

[JCESU 20]

I work in Jersey City and up until approximately 1997 the PD handled most medical calls along with the Jersey City Medical Ctr. As far as I am concerned MC personnel are top shelf. But herein lies the problem. When the FD took over what we call oxygen calls, regardless of the nature, they (FD)were dispatched along with the MC and the PD was sent only if someone along the chain of communications felt their may be some sort of danger. Being assigned to E.S.U. we buff allot of the oxygen calls whether we are dispatched or not just to keep our skills sharp and lend a hand where needed...we still have that freedom if we are not tied up. But what I noticed is that the FD is dispatched for a "man down" and given no further details. That man down could be and usually is the result of some sort of violence. So if we are tied up and respond from the other side of the City their is a good chance given the time of day/night that the FD will beat us on scene. Without the proper information the FD will arrive on the scene of an active crime scene i.e. shooting/stabbing where the poop is hitting the fan. Its no secret that we do not have a great rapport with the FD but I certainly don't want to see anyone get hurt. I have notified everyone that I could think of regarding these situations (including the FD union president who asked me to keep a record of these events...CAN YOU IMAGINE!) and it has fallen on deaf ears. I started to document most instances when the the FD is put in a perilous situation. But until somebody up above takes some sort of remedial action thats all I can do. When a FF eventually gets hurt, SHOT OR STABBED maybe things will change but I am not sure that will even change things. As for the MC thier protocol is to stage in a safe area until the PD arrives and normally they do. Sometimes you just turn the cormer and into chaos and it can't be avoided. I've discussed this ad-nauseum with many FF's and usually I just get the nodding of the head. I am sure if it happens here it happens in allot of other jurisdictions. The PD is certainly not in need of any extra work. But I know it was allot safer for responders when we were automatically dispatched when a call came in for EMS. At least we could respond and determine along with EMS if our presence is needed. At the end of the day I think the bean counters are more worried about the amount of runs at the end of the year than they are about safety

[Guest]

Seems like another episode of the media trying to scare people. My brother has a phrase that the news is "bad things that happen to other people, and gossip." This story seemed to have both.

I don't know what Jersey law is, but the age of the assailant was not given. As an aside, the article said he was stoned. Was he a juvie? Could he have been 'detained' by the retired officer if, as the article claimed, he was voicing complaints throughout the episode (hence, perhaps interferring with EMS officials)? Thank goodness the officer was there and 'helped', although given what seemed to be a mob action, maybe there wasn't much he could do.

And Bill, thanks for your personal perspective. Don't think that getting a vest is 'caving'. Your assessment of every run--that this sort of thing, or much worse, could happen is spot-on. I'm just sorry that you're only looking forward to retirement...more committed people like you are needed, especially in areas where they are not appreciated.

"And hey, let's be careful out there."