By EMS1 Staff
MELBOURNE, Australia — Paramedics are protesting a judge’s decision to spare two women of jail time after they assaulted a paramedic as he was treating an unconscious man.
Newshub reported that Amanda Warren and Caris Underwood were previously sentenced to six months and four months of jail time, respectively, after beating paramedic Paul Judd in 2016, who needed three surgeries and has not been able to return to work.
A law in Victoria says that the required sentence for an intentional assault on a first responder is six months of imprisonment unless there are “special reasons.”
Judge Barbara Cotterell said the two women met the “special reason” requirements and revoked their sentences.
Cotterell said Underwood was only 18 at the time of the incident and that she suffers from “psychosocial immaturity,” and Warren’s “impaired mental function” prevented her from being responsible for assaulting Judd.
“While having enormous sympathy for the victims who were attacked while going about their duties as emergency workers ... I have reached the conclusion that imposing the sentence at this stage would achieve little,"Cotterell said.
Judd, a 40-year paramedic veteran, said he felt justice had not been served.
EMS providers in the area were outraged by the decision and expressed their frustration by writing “It’s not OK to assault paramedics” on ambulance windows.
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