Big Let-down

[paraloco]

A retired long-time paramedic in our area just got busted for trying to solicit a minor on the internet. Not just any medic, the guy who was Obi Wan to many of us. he taught many of the paramedics in our area, and did a really good job of it too. Guys who were taught by him could come out ready to hit the streets running. I feel sorry for his wife, she's been an ER nurse for a million years. A local cardiologist also got busted for child molestation. What was he thinking? What a let down.

[emtkelley]

It is a tragedy when a well respected person (or anyone for that matter) is caught dipping into the dark side of life. Although my ex-husband wasn't a respected member of the medical community, he was respected by my daughter, his family and myself. When I found out what he had been up to, I was sick inside. Needless to say, he is my ex for that very reason.

My thoughts and heart go out to the victims, spouses, family, and coworkers (they are as well victims). I know only too well how they must be feeling.

[AnthonyM83]

Sigh. I'm sorry to hear that.

I'm just jaded into assuming that anyone I know, even closest friend, could do anything at anytime. While I do think my friends aren't 'that type of person' I almost never assume they 'could never do something like that'. Makes it less of a let-down when you find out. (probably not healthiest attitude though)

[Dustdevil]

I feel sorry for his wife, she's been an ER nurse for a million years.

Busted and convicted are two very different things.

And if his wife is a million years old, who could blame him? :twisted:

[medic001918]

The disappointment and let down should come from him being a friend that has done something like this. The fact that he is a paramedic has nothing to do with what he's done, regardless of how good or bad of a paramedic he is/was. I'm always amazed at how the news and people in general will play up something that someone has done based on their position. The unfortunate fact is, there are many other people like him that get charged and convicted daily and it goes unmentioned and unnoticed by the public. For some reason, people tend to treat it differently depending on the job function that the person holds which is totally irrelevent and wrong. I'm sorry that you ended up knowing this guy. Hopefully he gets what's coming his way...

Shane

NREMT-P

[Dustdevil]

Excellent point, Shane.

Plus 5. :thumbright:

[kevkei]

... The fact that he is a paramedic has nothing to do with what he's done, regardless of how good or bad of a paramedic he is/was. I'm always amazed at how the news and people in general will play up something that someone has done based on their position. The unfortunate fact is, there are many other people like him that get charged and convicted daily and it goes unmentioned and unnoticed by the public. For some reason, people tend to treat it differently depending on the job function that the person holds which is totally irrelevent and wrong. I'm sorry that you ended up knowing this guy. Hopefully he gets what's coming his way...

Shane

NREMT-P

I adimantly disagree. I will agree with the fact that it doesn't neet to be sensationalized in the media because of his occupation, but as a member of a profession that is expected to be held to a higher standard by the public as well as our co-workers or other industry professionals, it matters more. It is an abuse of the trust that we are sworn (figuratively) to uphold and respect.

It's bad enough to live in society with people with this kind of issue and I do feel sorry for them, but it's worse if I have to sit beside them and work with them every day. Think back to the day that you had the febrile seizure that your partner disrobed and cooled with tepid water or that 12 y/o female multisystems trauma he 'exposed and examined' and you wonder, 'what was he thinking' or 'what was his motive'? He explained to the parents what he was doing and why and they agreed because they trust you implicitly without question, saying 'do whatever you need to do.'

Sure maybe it is a person that has some issues and problems that need to be dealt with. But what if it is someone that is a predator working in this field with specific intent and a purpose? I guess that it doesn't matter and it doesn't need to be viewed differently based on their job function. I guess that's why he ends up losing his license/registration to practice and is banned from the industry.

[NREMT-Basic]

First, as a substitute teacher and someone who is put in all kinds of delicate situations with children (thank god I have never been accused of anything) I find it difficult to...justify this kind of behavior from anyone who holds the public trust. That being said...

Human beings do weird and deviant things. You dont find many otters or antelope surfing the net picking up children. Humans have a dark side shared by little else in creation and some fall prey to it, cant control it. Some of the stuff I saw and heard about when working in criminal law haunts me to this day. However, I have also sat across the table from convicted pedophiles, rapists, murderers and serial killers. They dont really look any different from you and me. Im not excusing any kind of this behavior and it must be dealt with severly and quickly whether its in prison or in a mental health facility of some kind, and yes, there are people who are predators who shout not be allowed out in the world. But does that change what this man did as a medic? Did he ever touch a child on the job? Was his professional conduct anything but exceptional? The medics her turned out were top-knotch according to the original posting. Thats no mean feat. Its hard enough to turn out basics who dont smoke standing near the oxygen tank and dont blast the siren everytime they drive past their girlfriends house. But to turn out high quality, street ready medics...a herculian task. Hell, Im scared whitless to even think about medic school let alone that possibility that I might one day teach. Anybody willing to go up to their arms in blood and guts every day and try to figure out what meds to push in a 10 second window and get the patient to the ED alive, well thats a pretty special individual. Im surprised that more medics dont go off of one deep end or another into the dark hole.

I lived for 2/3 of my life with a public servant...a wearer of the badge as many of you have read about. He was an outstanding police officer, served his community with nobility, compassion and dignity for 36 years. As a homicide detective for 25 of those years he brought closure to countless families by determining what happened to their loved ones and bring the responsible person to justice. He was awarded almost every citation available to him in IL. But his personal life....well...the job wore him down. He did alot of stupid things, dark things, that people wouldnt dream of doing in a million years if they didnt wade daily into the much and slime of human existance.

Do the actions of such people deserve to be whitewashed. Absolutely not. Is pedophilia or child predation one of the worse crimes imaginable....from dealing with the minds and lives of these people for longer than I care to think about I can say that it absolutely is. But they are human beings. Do we strip them of everything else in their lives because of the dark side that they may or may not be able to control. OK. So i am a knee-jerk bleeding heart liberal. Glad to be called that. But somewhere, there has to be room for forgiveness and reconciliation. I hope that the people that learned from this man and are now out there getting it done dont feel as though they have screwed up, or worse, been dooped. I worked with a client once that I believed in whole heartedly. As far as I was concerned the prosecution was cooking up a case cause they need a predator conviction. And then they turned over his computer files during evidence discovery. I went to the trash can and vomited until my ribs were throbbing. But there is the job. In criminal defense, we chose the case to defend the rights, not the action as so many think. We defend the process. The human beings rights. So this guy slipped into the hell of that lifestyle. He still trained good medics and no one needs to worry that he wont pay for what he has done. I can tell you that no matter how light a sentence he may get, cell block justice will have its way and no deed goes unpunished in places like Joliet, Marionville, Menard, Statesville. These are the prisons you hear about as being the most hideous in the country. And they dont just exist in Illinois. Having been inside each and every one of them I can tell you that hall has nothing on them. Take the good, take the bad for what its worth and move on.

[medic001918]

Sure maybe it is a person that has some issues and problems that need to be dealt with. But what if it is someone that is a predator working in this field with specific intent and a purpose? I guess that it doesn't matter and it doesn't need to be viewed differently based on their job function. I guess that's why he ends up losing his license/registration to practice and is banned from the industry.

This point is no different than anyone else that gets charged and/or convicted...could they have been using whatever position they held for the specific intent and purpose? Teachers? Sports coaches? Any higher supervisor using their position of "power" to obtain what they want? There really isn't much of a difference...but their crimes still go unnoticed and unmentioned. Be uniform and bring every case to public, or don't bring them at all. It's not fair that someone has their personal affairs (the arrest) made more public because they happened to hold a given job. While as public servants, we should be holding ourselves to a higher standard...there will be exceptions to the rules. And these exceptions happen in every line of work and often go unnoticed and unmentioned. Just food for thought. I don't think this guy deserves any kind of rights personally, but to make his offense seem greater due to his position is not entirely a fair occurance since as has been mentioned, people get charged and convicted of these offenses dailys without notice.

An example of a similar occurance was when the dean of students for a local college got arrested for DUI recently, she was forced to step down from her position for something that had nothing to do with her "on the job" performance. Think of how many people are arrested for DUI, and never have to tell anyone and never have it mentioned in the news. Because of her job, it was highly publicized. Doesn't hardly seem fair does it? All of that being said, I don't excuse anyone from drinking and driving. But there's something to be said for uniform enforcement of laws.

Shane

NREMT-P

[kevkei]

...but their crimes still go unnoticed and unmentioned. Be uniform and bring every case to public, or don't bring them at all.

Shane

NREMT-P

Are you familiar with how media obtains their information? They review arrest reports and themselves determine what is news worthy. It seems that your comments of their crimes going un-noticed/mentioned is based on your perception. You obviously heard this news report and it struck a nerve because of your personal bias to it being reported.

How many news reports are there nationally on a daily basis reporting people being arrested for child pornography and child molestation? Probably thousands. The majority of these would be normal citizens with normal lives, some are probably in a position of respect or authority within the community. You probably miss it because it happens all the time and we as a society become desensitized to it.

You agreed that "While as public servants, we should be holding ourselves to a higher standard" so too does the media and society as a whole, hence why it appears media. Do you think that it impacts the overall opinion of us because of this one incident? Do a media search and you will find that I am right.

Does it suck that this gets reported? Absolutely. The fact is, no one is immune to what is reported by the media regardless of who you are or what our occupation is.