By Andrew McIntosh
Sacramento Bee (California)
Copyright 2006 McClatchy Newspapers, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
State regulators and Galt police are investigating how a Galt man apparently worked as a paramedic for fire departments in Sacramento and Galt for about six years without a valid license.
State and local officials confirmed Wednesday that David J. Martinez resigned Oct. 6 from his job with the Galt Fire Protection District. Officials there had accused him of using another paramedic’s license number.
The Martinez case has surprised his former colleagues at Sacramento Fire Department, who said he stood out for his work ethic.
“Some people are always complaining, but he liked to work,” said department spokesman Capt. James Doucette. “Everybody I’ve talked to is totally in shock.”
The Elk Grove Community Services District, which is currently merging with Galt Fire, discovered the problem, officials said, while doing routine background checks on its newly acquired workers. They declined to comment further, citing the ongoing police investigation.
“This is both a personnel matter and a criminal matter,” said Steve Capps, spokesman for the district, which oversees the Elk Grove Fire Department.
It is a misdemeanor under the California Health and Safety Code to practice as a paramedic without a valid state license.
Reached at his Galt home Wednesday afternoon, Martinez confirmed he had resigned earlier this month but said that a firefighters union lawyer had advised him not to discuss the pending probe.
“I can’t even talk to my friends,” Martinez said. “I haven’t heard all the allegations, and I don’t exactly know what they are.”
Martinez had worked with Galt Fire since May after quitting his job in Sacramento. Doucette said Martinez told his Sacramento superiors he wanted to work in Galt to be closer to family and spend less time commuting.
Martinez was a member of the Sacramento department’s paramedic intern program several years ago, and Doucette said he did well in class.
According to Doucette, Sacramento Fire Department officials thought Martinez had passed a national paramedic association’s certification tests -- he presented a certificate saying he had -- and hired him.
“But it seems his certificate wasn’t any good,” Doucette said. “He also apparently copied one of our guy’s (state paramedic license) numbers.”
In the wake of the allegations, Sacramento officials also checked Martinez’s personnel files.
“There are no lawsuits pending about any of his work, and there was never any issue with the quality of care he offered or his ability as a paramedic,” Doucette added.
Doucette confirmed that Martinez also was a paramedic “preceptor,” an experienced paramedic who tutors and mentors rookies to ensure they meet state standards and have a firm grasp of emergency medicine.
Dr. Cesar Aristeiguieta, the director of the California Emergency Medical Services Authority, which licenses paramedics, said his agency’s investigators told him Oct. 5 about the case and have launched their own probe.
The day Martinez resigned, Aristeiguieta sent a memo to local emergency medical services directors and administrators across the state, warning them about the Martinez case and urging them to watch out for similar situations.
“We want to make sure we learn from this situation,” Aristeiguieta said. “He was using a valid license number. It just wasn’t his.”