MIDDLETON, Mass. — A firefighter was arrested and charged for passing fraudulent prescriptions for oxycodone and other drugs.
William Hatfield, 45, was in uniform and using one of the town’s fire trucks when he went to a pharmacy and tried to use a phony prescription to buy oxycodone, Wicked Local Plymouth reported.
Firefighter Hatfield, who has been placed on administrative leave, is to be arraigned Friday on charges that he used fake prescriptions to obtain the highly addictive painkiller. The charges against him stem from five separate visits he made to pharmacies between July and September of this year.
Hatfield, who was also a paramedic for a walk-in medical clinic, printed prescriptions in the name of a doctor that is no longer employed by the company. The doctor whose name appeared on the fake prescriptions told police he prescribed painkillers to Hatfield in the past, but not since May 5, according to the report.
Hatfield said he started taking Vicodin because of spinal pain and he became dependent on the medication, according to the report. He received treatment for four weeks after being put on administrative leave and then entered a rehabilitation center.
In a statement, a Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts union spokeswoman said the union will keep Hatfield’s family in their prayers.
“Prescription drug addictions are an epidemic in our society, and firefighters are particularly susceptible given their high injury rate, which is why we have an aggressive Employee Assistance Program,” said union spokeswoman Melissa Hurley. “William Hatfield received addiction treatment and legal advice from the Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts, both of which he chose to ignore. We will keep the Hatfield family in our prayers through this difficult ordeal.”
He was released on personal recognizance and must submit to random drug and alcohol testing. He is due back in court Jan. 15.