MILWAUKEE — A Milwaukee firefighter was punched in the face while tending to a victim who was suffering from a medical emergency Saturday night.
FOX6 News reported that the incident happened while a crowd gathered at a memorial vigil to remember a victim of a fatal motorcycle crash. Police officers were monitoring the crowd when one person began to have a medical emergency.
Officials said the crowd would not move back from the patient, and they became disorderly with police and firefighters as they attempted to treat the patient.
At one point, a member of the crowd struck a firefighter in the face, causing a minor injury.
“There were a lot of emotions. The temperature was quite high. (People in the crowd) began verbally assaulting the firefighters. One of the members of the crowd grabbed one of our firefighter’s arms, and swung him around. I guess our message would be — when we ask you to back up, please back up,” Milwaukee Fire Department Deputy Chief Aaron Lipski said.
The suspect, a 26-year-old man, was arrested for battery.
The person having the medical emergency was evaluated at a hospital.