Drug user 'masturbated in ambulance'

[Heretic.Ape.]

Link

Quote:
Drug user 'masturbated in ambulance'

By Kellee Nolan

May 23, 2008 05:25pm

SECURITY cameras may be needed in ambulances to protect both patients and paramedics, the ambulance union said today, after one of its members was cleared of digital rape of a drug user.

Although found not guilty, former paramedic Simon Paul Howe must now fight through arbitration to get his job back, after the Metropolitan Ambulance Service (MAS) last year sacked him for contract breaches related to the incident.

Mr Howe, 33, was yesterday acquitted in court of indecently assaulting a patient in the back of an ambulance.

Ambulance Employees Australia (AEA) state secretary Steve McGhie today said the allegations and the refusal of the MAS to support Mr Howe had paramedics worried.

"Ambulance paramedics throughout Victoria are very concerned that they could be put in a vulnerable position with a patient or a relative of a patient that might make serious allegations against them, and their employers will not support them," Mr McGhie said.

"So we've got to try and avoid that and if that means in the future we have to have some other types of security in the back of the ambulance, if it means that cameras have to be put into ambulances, they may be things of the future in ambulances."

Mr McGhie said the 23-year-old woman who accused Mr Howe of assaulting her had the illicit drugs GHB and cannabis in her system on the night of the incident.

The court had heard Mr Howe was trying to restrain her as she thrashed her arms and legs and masturbated loudly in the ambulance.

Mr McGhie said paramedics increasingly had to deal with patients who had taken GHB and the illicit drug ice, making the patients violent and erratic.

He said ambulance officers sometimes now refused to transfer patients unless a third person travelled with them, which could delay emergency treatment.

The MAS said even though Mr Howe was acquitted, it would not reinstate him, saying it was "determined to maintain the high level of trust that the community has for its paramedics".

Having always maintained his innocence, Mr Howe today said he did not know why his former employer had not stood by him through the 18-month ordeal.

"I have absolutely no idea, I've not had a single complaint or blemish in my career, I've been highly regarded," Mr Howe said.

"There are senior paramedics of more advanced training than I who continue to come forward and speak to me and say 'if you need any reference for any degree of your professionalism please feel free to use me'.

"So I have absolutely no idea, no clue and it's just appalling that I've never once had their support."

He said the allegations and being sacked had "shattered" him, but he was overwhelmed with support from other paramedics.

"They've seen how I've been treated and they are very, very cautious and very afraid of the situation that they can find themselves in," he said.

The MAS said it sacked Mr Howe because he breached his contract by not providing an incident report following the allegations.

Reputation Comments on this post:

nice find

[ihavequestions]

LOL. i was just about to ask if she was on GHB by any chance cause of the horniness. but you know how women can be. always thinking with there vaginas.

[Alfa]

Originally Posted by Heretic.Ape.

GHB... making the patients violent

Yeah right. Keep the misinformation coming.

[~lostgurl~]

Originally Posted by Alfa

Yeah right. Keep the misinformation coming.

A mixture of clonic movements and intoxication to the point where one is unaware of where they are or why they are going to hospital could certainly seem like violent behaviour, though it would probably be confusion and/or involuntary body movements seen when someone has had an extremely large dose of GHB.

On a side note, my gurl used to hang out at an after hours night club where she often witnessed girls taking too much GHB and then taking a "nap" in the VIP room - almost always with a hand rested on their crutch.

[klaatu]

Originally Posted by Heretic.Ape.

The court had heard Mr Howe was trying to restrain her as she thrashed her arms and legs and masturbated loudly in the ambulance.

Mr McGhie said paramedics increasingly had to deal with patients who had taken GHB and the illicit drug ice, making the patients violent and erratic

Surely that should say "violent and erotic"...



Klaatu

Reputation Comments on this post:

LOL!

[BigWillyStyle]

"if it means that cameras have to be put into ambulances, they may be things of the future in ambulances."

what's next man ...like digital thermometers...the future is HERE man

[bcubed]

Grr...

Note that, per newspaper standards, the "rape victim's" name is still being withheld, despite the fact that her charges are baseless, and have damaged an innocent paramedic's livelihood and reputation (imagine how much more so for the considerable time it took to come up with evidence exonerating the worker).

The exact same thing happened at the university I was attending...a woman, for whatever reason, made up a rape report, for which a police sketch was made and stuck on all the buses...about 2mo. later, the police were interviewed saying the rape was most likely a fabrication and they were considering charges (which never occurred).

When I asked the student newspaper "Why are you providing cover for liars?" the response was "Well, until the police actually press charges, it's still theoretically possible she's telling the truth..."

Sounds like a fairly effective smear strategy, from a risk/reward standpoint: maybe it'll stick, and if it doesn't, at least you don't have to worry about any personal repurcussions!

[maletwickenham]

Surely the driver could have seen in the mirror what was going on?

[cannabis-sam]

what I wanna know is how do you masturbate loudly?

how much sound can rubbing your hand over yourself make, unless she's got a mini xylophone in there.

[Junkhead23]

Your kidding right?

[jord4n007]

so....the media takes a story about false accusations and employers dumping liability on employees and turns it into a story about evil drugs ruining the lives of paramedics?

[Dickon]

Originally Posted by ~lostgurl~

On a side note, my gurl used to hang out at an after hours night club where she often witnessed girls taking too much GHB and then taking a "nap" in the VIP room - almost always with a hand rested on their crutch.

And what would the good Dr Freud have to say about this "reverse" slip?! Or had these girls taken so much GHB that they'd all fallen down and broken their legs. Strange but true....allegedly......!!

Keep smiling

Dickon