By Steve Kuchera
The Duluth News Tribune via The St. Paul Pioneer Press
VIRGINIA, Minn. — A Virginia, Minn. firefighter accused of stealing and using a painkiller during an ambulance transfer of a patient last month said “he had a problem” and told investigators he committed similar acts on other occasions, according to court documents.
John Ditzler, 41, of Virginia, is on paid administrative leave after being charged Sept. 14 with one count of felony theft. Ditzler has been a member of the Virginia Fire Department since 2006. A court appearance is set for Oct. 1.
Ditzler initially told the Duluth News Tribune he would send a statement responding to the charges, but ultimately did not.
According to the criminal complaint:
On Aug. 17, Ditzler and a second firefighter transported a patient from the Virginia Regional Medical Center to St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth. Ditzler rode with the patient in the back of the ambulance while the other firefighter drove.
During the ride the patient began experiencing pain. Ditzler gave her half of a preloaded 100 mg syringe of fentanyl.
According to the National Institutes of Health, fentanyl is a synthetic painkiller similar to but more potent than morphine.
After adding the painkiller to the patient’s IV, Ditzler told her that he was going behind her to do some paperwork, the complaint said. The patient saw him place a tourniquet around his arm and inject himself with a needle.
“After he did this, he paused, had a breathing sigh” and removed the tourniquet, the complaint said. The patient “stated she became afraid.”
When they arrived at St. Mary’s, Ditzler “fell down the back of the vehicle” and the ambulance driver grabbed him, the patient said. Inside the hospital the patient began crying and told a nurse and the ambulance driver what she had seen.
After the two firefighters returned to Virginia, an assistant chief talked to the two about the allegations.
Ditzler “at first didn’t say anything,” the complaint said. “He then said he had a problem.”
In a taped statement made to investigators the next day, Ditzler admitted to injecting 50 mg of Fentanyl on the ambulance run from Virginia to Duluth, the complaint said. He also admitted to using half of a patient’s morphine earlier that day during an ambulance run from Cook to Duluth. He also disclosed using half a of patient’s morphine in June.
A search of Minnesota court records found four previous cases against Ditzler: three petty misdemeanor traffic cases and one misdemeanor shoplifting case. In that matter Ditzler was accused of pocketing a small battery at a Grand Rapids store in 2008. He paid $377 in fines and fees.
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