A Rochester man died last month, two weeks after being ordered out of an ambulance and onto a city street corner while having trouble breathing.
In video released by the city, the man made his way to a makeshift bench but soon collapsed. He laid facedown and motionless on the sidewalk for 2 minutes and 15 seconds while police officers and ambulance workers milled about nearby.
“We must get to the bottom of this. We must understand how and why this occurred,” Mayor Malik Evans said during a news conference Thursday at City Hall. “And we must identify processes and safeguards to ensure that this does not ever happen again.”
Evans said he only learned of the Nov. 30 matter on Tuesday from the man’s family. A specific date when the man died, and the cause of death were not provided.
The man was not identified but appears to be middle-aged.
AMR called for police assistance at 2:15 a.m. at Seneca Avenue and Norton Street on the city’s north side.
There appears to have been some conflict inside the ambulance, as AMR staffers told responding officers they didn’t know what was wrong with the man, but he had to get out of the ambulance. In the video, one of the AMR staff is heard saying the man reported having pain drinking water, grabbed her and demanded oxygen, and that his actions were unacceptable.
“I was freaking out,” the man said. “You’d freak out, too, if you can’t breathe.”
“I hear ya,” one of the police officers responds. “I’d probably try to control myself a little bit better. I wouldn’t grab on people.”
"I was trying to grab for the door, trying to get out of here,” he said. “Try to breathe.”
He asked again to be taken to the hospital and was told “No.”
In the video, he is not combative but is heard breathing heavily and making audible noises like grunting throughout. He labored to get himself out of the ambulance and onto the sidewalk and a makeshift bench. He went to his knees and collapsed a short time later.
When an officer later approached him, they noticed blood. From the comments of police, it appeared he was still breathing.
The city has subpoenaed AMR for records and asked the company to conduct an investigation. AMR released a statement Thursday evening.
"We reached out to the family and do not have permission to speak about the details of this incident due to patient privacy laws," the statement read. "We viewed the video for the first time yesterday and have launched an internal investigation. We have also requested an investigation by the New York State Department of Health Bureau of EMS and Trauma Systems."
An internal police investigation is underway as well. Police officer statements are expected to be taken next week. No officers have been placed on leave, officials said, but the AMR crew has been. The Police Accountability Board also is investigating.
“I spoke to the family today,” Evans said. “And all they want is answers. They're not asking for anything unreasonable. They just know that their brother, that their father, that their cousin called for ambulance services, and that they got a call saying that he was dead.
“But they have not gotten any information yet. They've gotten zero information. They've gotten zero information on what happened here.”
On Friday, City Council sent Evans a letter with a detailed information request, asking that the administration share reports, policies and other information related to the case. The letter is signed by Council President Miguel Meléndez and Councilmember Willie Lightfoot, chairman of the Public Safety Committee.
