Updated at 3:50 p.m., Thursday, November 1, 2007
Man, 19, accused of assaulting paramedic in Moiliili
Advertiser Staff
A 47-year-old Honolulu paramedic was assaulted about 10:50 p.m. yesterday at the University Hale condominium in Mo'ili'ili while treating a "severely intoxicated" 19-year-old man, police said.The man was arrested on suspicion of second-degree assault.
Officials at the city's Emergency Services Department, which oversees public ambulance operations on O'ahu, declined to comment on the particulars of the incident.
Bryan Cheplic, a spokesman for the department, said a new law makes it felony for anyone to hit a city paramedic working on an emergency case.
Serious bodily injury used to be the threshold that had to be crossed before someone could be arrested for felony assault.
But paramedics now have the same level of protection as police officers in that assaulting them to any degree will result in a felony arrest, Cheplic said.
