** New Hampshire EMT/firefighter, who stole drugs, given suspended jail time
** New York EMT praised for helping save the life of a suicidal man
UNITED STATES NEWS
** A former New Hampshire EMT/firefighter, convicted of stealing drugs from the hospital where he worked, has been handed a suspended sentence for his crimes. Fosters.com (John Doyle/June 1) said Rochester resident Donald Penney, 50, managed to get out of two three year sentences because of his good behaviour. Stafford County Superior Court Judge Steven M. Houran said because Penney took the drugs due to an addiction problem, incarceration was likely to be unproductive. Penney was accused of taking the meds from Frisbee Memorial Hospital between August 2012-August 2013. Police also charged he doctored run sheets to make it appear he had given the drugs when he had actually pocketed them. Along with his addiction being a mitigating factor in sentencing, Penney’s lawyer also said his client was never high while at work and had no prior criminal record.
** A Fire Department of New York EMT is being praised for likely saving the life of a suicidal man Wednesday after she talked him down from jumping off a bridge. That is the word from The Staten Island Advance (Anna Sanders/June 1) which said Lana Hagai was on her way to work around 7 a.m. when she saw the man climb a 10 foot high fence surrounding an overpass. Noting that the drop from the top was about 50 feet, Hagai said she began persuading the man to come down before two other bystanders assisted. An ambulance was then called, with the subject taken to hospital for evaluation. It remains unclear what motivated him to attempt a suicide.
