BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — The patient who was allegedly dumped off a stretcher by a paramedic at a Brevard County hospital said he is upset that the paramedic’s charges were downgraded.
Surveillance video from Weustoff Medical Center in Rockledge captured the February incident.
Paramedic Kenneth Hallenbeck was fired, but patient James Slater, 49, is upset that Hallenbeck’s felony charge was downgraded to a misdemeanor, and Slater is now considering taking legal action.
Raw: Man allegedly dumped off stretcher speaks to WFTV
Raw: Paramedic accused of dumping man off stretcher
“I’ve never been treated in a hospital that way ever,” Slater said. “Kenneth Hallenbeck took me back into the main lobby and just started screaming at me. Screaming obscenities, telling me to get the ‘F’ off his stretcher. Then he started threatening that he would throw me off.”
Slater said he repeatedly told Hallenbeck that it was physically impossible to get off the stretcher.
Slater, who has AIDS, was brought to the hospital because of a painful intestinal blockage.
“There’s nothing that I could have done that would warrant him intentionally throwing me on the floor,” Slater said.
Slater was able to get up, but suffered a shoulder injury that required surgery.
Hallenbeck was arrested on charges of abuse of the elderly or disabled but is now charged with negligence, which is a misdemeanor.
"The punishment does not commensurate with the charge, and he's absolutely guilty," Slater said. "I feel like I'm being discriminated against because I have AIDS and I'm homosexual. That's what it comes down to."
The State Attorney’s Office said Slater’s sexual orientation played no role in its charging decision.
His medical condition did, but the office’s review of the evidence indicated his illness did not play a significant role in what happened.
The State Attorney’s Office is also asking Hallenbeck to surrender his paramedic license.
WFTV
