WASHINGTON — When an ambulance at the White House assigned to President Barack Obama ran out of gas in August 2013, the District of Columbia blamed the paramedic responsible to fill the ambulance’s tank.
Darlene Nelson, then a 13-year EMS veteran, was ordered a 120-hour suspension, The Washington Post reported.
Last month, more than two years after the dispute, a judge sided with the paramedic, overturning the suspension and ordering back pay. The judge said the District was negligent, not Nelson.
“The judge found that the department tried to blame me for a systemic problem,” Nelson said.
Nelson said there are still maintenance problems with the ambulances and fire engines, but she hopes the new fire chief, Gregory M. Dean, will make changes.
Dean said he respects the choice to reverse Nelson’s punishment.