Paramedic Accused Of Abusing Patient; Incident Caught On Tape
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A Baltimore City paramedic was arrested and accused of abusing a patient in his care. Police say it was all caught on tape.
Mike Schuh has the disturbing details.
Shaun White is charged with two counts of second-degree assault after his own partner says he attacked a patient they were supposed to be caring for.
Paramedic Shaun White is accused of slapping a female patient, grabbing her by the neck and smashing her into a stretcher.
"That's devastating! It makes you not want to call for help," said Baltimore resident Suzanne Newton.
He was on a run to help an intoxicated woman in Morrell Park. It was White's partner that filed an internal complaint after he says White slapped the woman and pushed her face into the stretcher.
"They definitely shouldn't be working for the citizens," said one resident.
Part of the incident was caught on surveillance cameras. It was a battalion chief at the fire station that alerted police after he saw the video. Investigators say the tape shows White picking the woman up by the neck and slamming her into a headrest.
Fire union officials say the tape doesn't show the whole story.
"We're talking a surveillance camera mounted in the corner. You've got one view and one view only," said Fire Union President Rick Hoffman.
The police report says the woman wasn't being combative, but Hoffman says you don't see what happened before the tape.
"Eighty-five percent of the people that come out of there are swinging, spitting, they're slashing, they're hitting and all he's trying to do is protect himself," Hoffman said.
"Right now, the fire department has begun our own internal investigation and as a result of this member being arrested, he has been suspended," said Baltimore Fire Department Chief Kevin Cartwright.
White has been released on his own recognizance.
Union officials argue the entire matter should have been handled internally since the patient did not go to police herself.
White was initially suspended without pay, but Monday morning the union fought and got him a suspension with pay.
