March 17, 2021: Orlando L. Blanco successfully defended a public EMS provider in Southwest Michigan in a labor arbitration involving the discipline of a paramedic involved in a police chase and the restraint of a combative patient. The arbitrator rendered an award in favor of Blanco Wilczynski’ s client and denied the grievance filed by the paramedic.

The case involved a paramedic and his partner dispatched to respond to a priority 1 medical emergency involving a psychiatric patient who was acting erratically outside of his mother’s residence. When the ambulance arrived, the ambulance crew was instructed by police to stage outside the residence, while police officers attempted to subdue the patient, who was acting erratically and not cooperating with police. When the subject jumped in a car and fled the scene, several police squad cars became engaged in following the subject’s car. The paramedic in charge of the ambulance crew decided to engage his ALS ambulance in the police chase, instructing the EMT driver to follow the cars in the chase which lasted nearly an hour. The ambulance followed police squad cars in an “O.J. Simpson like” chase, which at times went through both residential and commercial neighborhoods and involved as many as 9 police squad cars. At one time, the ambulance was positioned crosswise on the roadway in attempt to block the path of the vehicle being chased by police.

Additionally, the Grievant paramedic made an unsuccessful attempt to video tape the chase. When the patient’s mother, who was also following, saw the paramedic attempting to video her son, she confronted the paramedic on the roadway. The paramedic was unprofessional with the mother, waving her off and dismissing her complaints. When the patient was finally caught and subdued by police, the paramedic also exhibited very unprofessional behavior in his treatment of the patient.

After the paramedic was suspended, he filed a grievance, which his union ultimately took to arbitration, arguing that the employer did not have “just cause” to suspend the paramedic.  The arbitrator was persuaded that the paramedic’s conduct violated the  employer’s policies and legitimate expectations in several ways and denied the grievance, recognizing  the grievant’ s poor and unprofessional conduct throughout the event. Accordingly, the arbitrator denied the paramedic’s grievance and ordered the union to pay all costs associated with the arbitration.