THUNDER BAY – NEWS – The Ontario Court of Criminal Justice held a hearing on March 29 regarding the assault of a paramedic and resisting a Peace Officer. The accused entered a plea of guilty for the assault, and the charge of resisting a Peace Officer was withdrawn.
The incident took place on July 8, 2016 when Superior North EMS paramedics were called to assist a person behind a business on Memorial Avenue. The person then became violent and threatening towards the paramedics. Thunder Bay Police assistance was requested, and the person was taken into custody.
“Fortunately, no one was injured in this incident,” said Chief Wayne Gates, Superior North EMS. “Assault against any person, let alone paramedics, is unacceptable.”
Paramedic and UNIFOR 229 unit paramedic chair Rob Moquin says he is concerned about the number of times paramedics are finding themselves in situations where they are receiving both physical and verbal threats while trying to perform their job.
“We are there to help, and we can’t provide patient care to the best of our ability when we ourselves are being assaulted” says Moquin. “Paramedics will do everything they can to help people, but we also need them to help us by being respectful and cooperative.”
“Violence towards paramedics is very concerning for us all, and we will be encouraging police to take appropriate actions in those situations as they did with this one,” added Gates.
