Monday, November 23, 2009
** Minnesota paramedic sues hospital and police department over abuse of mental patient emergency holds
** Former UK medic faces Crown court on child porn possession and production charges
UNITED STATES NEWS
** A Brooklyn, Minnesota paramedic has launched a lawsuit against the local police department and hospital after alleging they are abusing mental patient emergency hold rules. That is the word from the Star Tribune (Lora Pabst/November 22) which said Nate Berg, 30, who has worked EMS for 10 years, claims the 72 hour involuntary detention of patients is exploited by police who don’t have enough evidence to arrest people. Berg also said his employer, North Memorial Medical Center, goes along with the tactic because it brings revenue into the facility. Berg said he has seen more than 200 instances where individuals were unlawfully detained. Berg’s employer, ,meanwhile, which has reprimanded him for disrupting hospital/police relations, brushed off the allegation, saying it had no merit. The police department declined to discuss the lawsuit.
UNITED KINGDOM NEWS
** A former Plymouth medic will likely have to face Crown court on 14 child porn possession and production charges. This is Plymouth (November 20) said Darren Gibson, 44, was given the news by magistrates late last week who said the gravity of the tags makes the move necessary. According to the newspaper, police found Gibson in possession of 3,200 indecent images of children. Both his personal laptop and work computer were searched. Gibson, who worked as en EMS responder for 25 years, is set to appear in court again on January 14. At that time, the matter will be formally transferred to the Crown.
