By Eva Ruth Moravec
The San Antonio Express-News
SAN ANTONIO — A San Antonio Fire Department employee may lose his paramedic’s certification after he reportedly drew obscene pictures on windows of an ambulance on an emergency call earlier this month.
The paramedic, whose name has not been released, was off duty Oct. 1 when a SAFD ambulance responded to a 911 call in the 16600 block of Turkey Point, according to Fire Department spokeswoman Deborah Foster and a police incident report.
A witness told police he saw a man get out of a pickup, use shoe polish to draw inappropriate images on the windows and then drive away. Someone wrote down the man’s license plate, which police used to track the truck to the paramedic.
Foster said the paramedic, who joined the Fire Department in 2002 and became a paramedic in 2007, has been placed on administrative duty while Chief Charles Hood investigates the incident. The paramedic was not arrested, but the police report indicates a charge of criminal mischief under $50 may be forthcoming. The paramedic told administrators the drawings were meant as a practical joke.
“It may be a few days until we decide what to do with the disciplinary action,” Foster said. “It’s very disappointing, since we’re all out there trying to save lives, and Chief Hood has said he’s also disappointed.”
Officials said a couple called 911 because their child was having problems breathing. Paramedics responded and were inside the North Side home treating the child when the alleged criminal mischief occurred. Foster said when the crew came outside, officials saw the drawings and reported them to police.
A backup ambulance was called, Foster said, but the parents already had decided to take their child to the hospital on their own.
Chris Steele, president of the San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association, said the child’s life was never in danger. Steele said after police investigated, the ambulance crew cleaned the windows and left the scene.
Regardless of how time-sensitive the child’s condition was, the Texas Department of State Health Services, which certifies paramedics and EMS systems, is investigating whether the incident placed the public in unnecessary danger.
“Generally, we’re looking to see if the provider (SAFD) or the certified person took any actions that would impede public safety,” said spokesman Chris Van Deusen. “Possible outcomes - if there was wrongdoing found - could be nothing, revocation of license, suspension of license or imposing a fine.”
Once Hood’s investigation is complete, he may recommend a disciplinary action to the Fire Fighters’ and Police Officers’ Civil Service Commission, which will reject or accept the action. Steele said he believes an unpaid suspension would be fitting.
“It’s not something that’s appropriate, and stern disciplinary action is in order,” he said. “And a message has to be sent that we won’t stand for that type of thing. It does not look good to the public, and we try to maintain a professional image.”
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