Police: Man beat up paramedics treating him in a moving ambulance
A man was released from medical care Thursday, only to be arrested for allegedly beating up the paramedics who brought him to the hospital.
Sgt. Chad Schirmers with the Lino Lakes Police Department told GoMN that paramedics responded to what may have been a drug overdose Wednesday evening.
Then – once police left and the ambulance was moving – the suspect started fighting the paramedics, according to a Facebook post.
The Lino Lakes Police Department got a call regarding the attack and responded around 11:45 p.m. When police arrived, Schirmers said the paramedics had the situation under control. However, two of them suffered injuries from kicks and punches. So now the original patient and two paramedics all had to get medical attention.
Sgt. Schirmers said none of the injuries were life-threatening, but he's not sure how the two paramedics are doing.
As for the original victim-turned-suspect: He was arrested Thursday, booked into Anoka County Jail, and is awaiting fourth-degree assault charges.
Since formal charges have not been filed, GoMN will not be releasing names at this time.
When we asked Sgt. Schirmers how often things like this happen, he responded, "It's much more frequent than anyone really believes."
"Paramedics and EMTs face the same risks firefighters and police do," Schirmers went on.
The police department is encouraging people to write "thank you" or "get well soon" letters for the medics involved. You can get more information on that in the original Facebook post.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 21,300 emergency medical service workers were injured on the job in 2014 – that's the most recent data. Most of those injuries were sprains and strains due to work. However, about 2,600 happened because of some act of violence.
