(UnitedHeadlines.com) – Two weeks after being asked to exit an ambulance while suffering a medical emergency, a Rochester, New York man has died.
A 12-minute video from Nov. 30, 2023, shows police arriving while the ambulance is parked on the side of the road with its lights flashing. According to body cam footage, an EMT tells the officer that the unidentified man has “got to go” but that the man would not exit the ambulance. The officer then explains to the man that the crew wants him out of the ambulance. As the man clutches his chest and shoulders, he tells the officers he “couldn’t breathe.” The EMT says the man lunged at them, which is not a way to ask for help. The man exits the ambulance and says, “You would freak out too if you can’t breathe.” The officer instructs the man to wait for another ambulance, adding to try “to control myself a little bit better.” The man then pleaded for the officer to transport him to the hospital, though the officer refused. The man then collapsed on the sidewalk, where he remained motionless for over two minutes before anyone helped him. The man died two weeks after the incident.
On Jan. 11, Rochester Mayor Malik Evans said he was “flabbergasted” at the incident and stated, “We must get to the bottom of this.” Though the man died just before Christmas, Evans was not made aware of the incident until Jan 9.
Rochester Police Chief David Smith also called for an internal investigation into the incident.
American Medical Response, the ambulance provider, stated it would comply with the investigation launched by Evans, adding that it has launched its own internal investigation. The company stated that it is committed to “fix whatever led to this unacceptable situation.”
Though an official cause of death has not been released, the man’s family said he died from the health emergency he had sought help for.
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