A Rochester police officer is on desk duty after he was caught on camera forcefully handcuffing an emergency medical technician who’d reportedly bumped his squad car with her ambulance door just outside a hospital.
According to News 10 Rochester, the Monroe Ambulance EMT was attempting to unload a patient in the ambulance bay area at Strong Memorial Hospital when she hit the cop’s car. The officer then demanded the EMT give him her identification, but the health-care worker was more concerned about getting the patient inside the hospital for treatment, the report says.
In a video of the incident obtained by News 10, the EMT can be seen standing next to a colleague at the hospital check-in desk with the patient on a stretcher. The investigator, who is wearing a red shirt, then rushes toward the EMT, pushing her into a wall before handcuffing her and escorting her out of the hospital. The medical worker was ultimately released from custody without charges being filed.
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In a statement released Friday on Facebook, Monroe Ambulance said the EMT made the correct call in bringing the patient inside the hospital as soon as possible.
“While the incident is still under internal investigation, our review of the video footage of the event indicates the safety of both our employee and that of her patient were jeopardized by the action of the officer,” the statement said. “Our employee demonstrated sound decision making by prioritizing the care of her patient and it is the expectation of all our care providers to do the same.”
“Furthermore, we do not believe the behavior of the officer aligns with the values of RPD leadership and should in no way condemn the rest of the brave brothers and sisters in blue. We are eager to learn of the outcome of RPD’s official investigation,” the statement added.
The Rochester Police Department tweeted a statement Friday, saying it has opened an internal investigation into the arrest and “prides itself on providing professional and courteous services to [the] community.”
“I demand the members of the Rochester Police Department perform their duties in a professional manner,” Rochester police chief David Smith said. “And as such, we must hold ourselves to a high standard of accountability.”
The officer involved has since been assigned to administrative duties.
