PITTSBURGH — Four Pittsburgh paramedics will be suspended without pay for at least three days and some for longer, even though an investigation found that they did not violate any state emergency laws in the hours leading up to the death of a Hazelwood man after the 20-inch snowfall on Feb. 5 and 6.
The situation became heated when more than 20 paramedics went to Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday to speak on behalf of colleagues who are facing disciplinary action by the city.
Channel 4 Action News’ Shannon Perrine reported that at one point during the morning meeting, police had to separate a paramedic and the head of the city’s firefighter’s union. The exact nature of the argument is not clear.
Tony Weinmann, president of the Fraternal Association of Professional Paramedics, said Monday that the city notified two paramedics of pending discipline in connection with Curtis Mitchell’s death.
“We don’t believe our people should be disciplined. This was a system failure and just to blame the paramedics is totally unfair,” said Weinmann.
Paramedics at the meeting said the focus should be on the city’s emergency response system and not on the paramedics themselves.
“Two studies exonerated the paramedics. The wife of Curtis Mitchell herself thinks the paramedics are being scapegoated,” said paramedic Megan Hart.
The city announced what action they would take against the paramedics at a news conference on Tuesday afternoon.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health exonerated the paramedics of any wrongdoing, but that ruling seems to carry little weight with city officials.
“The bottom line is, we do think the paramedics should have gotten out of their vehicle and assisted Curtis Mitchell in a more effective way and help prevent him from passing away,” Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said last week.
Mitchell died on the morning of Sunday, Feb. 7, after a near-record snow total was dumped on the city by a storm that began on the evening of Feb. 5 and continued into the afternoon of Feb. 6.
His longtime partner, Sharon Edge, said that they called 911 when Mitchell started having abdominal pains and was unable to walk.
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Records show 10 calls were placed to 911 since 2 a.m. on Feb. 6, and ambulances were unable to access the snow-covered street where Mitchell lived until after 8 a.m. on Feb. 7, when he was already dead.
“That was my best friend. We did everything together, and without him being around, it’s hard for me to pay bills and things like that because he’s not here to help,” said Edge.
The paramedics’ union criticized city leaders on Saturday, saying, “It is quite obvious prior to this incident that the city was ill-prepared for this snow disaster. The administrators in charge of the public’s safety did not put the employees of the city of Pittsburgh in a position to carry out their responsibilities in an effective manner.”
“Each time the call backs were made, the call was canceled and those units returned back service,” said Weinmann.
Edge, told WTAE Channel 4 Action News that she didn’t think the two paramedics should lose their jobs.
“I think they used them as a scapegoat. I don’t want them to get fired because that wouldn’t be right, and Curtis wouldn’t have wanted that,” said Edge.
The state Department of Health said paramedics responding to Mitchell’s calls acted according to a list of protocols detailed in Act 45 of the EMS code and did not violate state law.
On Friday, Ravenstahl reiterated that the city has its own rules.
“When you look at the state’s requirements that nothing was done wrong, we feel differently,” said Ravenstahl. “But one thing that’s important to understand is that we have higher standards -- in terms of what we expect from our paramedics here in Pittsburgh -- than what the state requires.”
Ravenstahl has not said what those higher standards are.
“We’ll disclose that at the time when we make an announcement. It’s not [public disclosure] at this time. We will make it available,” Huss said on Friday.
Republished with permission from WTAE