** Oklahoma EMT has child porn charges dropped;still facing drug tags
** Texas paramedic killed in motorcycle/pick-up truck crash
UNITED STATES NEWS
** An Oklahoma EMT may still face drug charges but has had a tag of child porn possession
dropped due to a lack of evidence. That is the word from KXII (October 19) which said Durant
resident Brian Coates must still answer to the allegation of possession with intent to distribute
methamphetamine. According to the news site, Coates was arrested in April during a traffic stop.
The meds were found in his car at this time. Although photos of young males were found on his
phone, the depictions did not suit legal definitions of child porn. Coates, who is the former assistant
director of Atoka County EMS, currently works as an EMT in Marshall County. He is also a first
responder instructor in Durant.
** A Texas paramedic is dead after a Thursday motorcycle crash in which a pickup truck pulled
into his path. The Gonzalez Inquirer (Rob Ford/October 20) said Westhoff resident Matthew
Griffin, 41, was taken to Seguin’s Guadeloupe Regional Medical Center but died a short time later.
According to the newspaper, he was on his way to work with Gonzales County EMS around 7 a.m.
when the accident occurred. The driver of the pickup truck, meanwhile, was not injured, though
he was cited for failing to yield. Griffin was remembered by colleagues as selfless and generous.
He had worked EMS for 20 years at the time of his death.
