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EMS agency suing rival for slashing brake lines, shooting windows

Republic EMS claims City Ambulance Services caused damages exceeding $200,000 after vandalizing ambulances nearly a dozen times

By EMS1 Staff

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — A feud between two EMS companies escalated into a lawsuit after one side claimed dangerous activity had occurred.

The Sacramento Bee reported that Republic EMS filed a lawsuit against City Ambulance Services, claiming they vandalized Republic EMS’s vehicles by cutting brake lines, installing tracking devices and shooting out windows.

The lawsuit states that Republic EMS has spent more than $100,000 securing their vehicles.

Republic EMS said the feud began after they won over clients from City Ambulance, causing the company to allegedly hire someone to shoot out the windows with a firearm.

The company said nine of its vehicles have been vandalized since May 2016.

“Defendants’ conduct is not just reckless, it is malicious and criminal,” the lawsuit reads. “The conduct of the defendants is reprehensible. This is especially true considering that City Ambulance holds itself out as a provider of health services.”

A lawyer representing City Ambulance said the lawsuit is “totally absurd.”

“It’s very cutthroat. It’s something like Al Capone and his crew would do,” City Ambulance lawyer Robert Pelton said. “This is a revenge-type deal and they’re using the courts seeking revenge. That’s not the way you’re supposed to do things.”