By EMS1 Staff
BRINKLEY, Ark. — A paramedic received a six-month license suspension after admitting to moving a parked ambulance as a practical joke.
Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette reported that Tawny Long said she was “very, very wrong” for moving the ambulance that was parked at the Southern Paramedic Service ambulance station. She moved it across the street, about 70 yards from the station, according to the report.
Officials said the ambulance’s disappearance caused a “slight delay” when another ambulance had to be dispatched to a call.
“If they had looked around they could have seen it,” Long said, adding that “this is something that had been done multiple times, including done to me while I was on shift.”
In a written statement to police, Long said she and another EMT planned to “turn on everything” in the ambulance as a joke. They decided to “move it out of sight” once they found the key inside the rig.
Nate Smith, director of the state Department of Health, said “minutes, even seconds matter” when it comes to responding to a medical emergency.
“For you to characterize this moving ambulances around and hiding them as common practice, that’s just absolutely unacceptable when people’s lives are at stake,” Smith said.
A state board unanimously agreed to suspend her license and ordered Long to be on probation for 12 months after her suspension. She will also have to take classes on ethics and legal matters.
Long, who was fined $720 for second-degree criminal mischief, said she plans to appeal the punishment. The other EMT who helped Long with the joke was also fined and agreed to surrender his license for six months.