Pa. paramedic disarms violent patient with knife
Ronald C. James walked to the kitchen, grabbed a steak knife and told the paramedic he would kill him, according to police
By Joseph Kohut
The Times-Tribune, Scranton, Pa.
CARBONDALE, Pa. — A Carbondale man who had been drinking “pounders” of beer Saturday afternoon needed an ambulance because he reportedly couldn’t move his legs.
When EMS noticed he had no trouble at all moving his legs, Ronald C. James walked to the kitchen, grabbed a steak knife and told the paramedic he would kill him, police said.
James, 52, is charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, terroristic threats, resisting arrest, harassment, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness.
EMS responded to his home at about 3:30 p.m. They found James in a camping chair rolling a cigarette. He had been drinking, police said.
Paramedic Joseph Mangieri could see James was “able to move everything with a purpose and freely” and asked his sister, Debbie Kurilla, what else besides the beer he had to drink that day.
James overheard the conversation and got angry.
He grabbed a knife and started swinging it.
Mangieri disarmed him and took James to the ground. The paramedic restrained him and his partner, Bill Burrell, called police.
James is in Lackawanna County Prison in lieu of $10,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Monday.
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©2019 The Times-Tribune (Scranton, Pa.)
