Police continue to investigate a multi-vehicle crash on Deerfoot Trail on Monday afternoon that resulted in an altercation between first responders and one of the drivers.
Emergency crews responded to a crash involving several vehicles in the northbound lanes of Deerfoot Trail at about 4:00 p.m.
Witnesses reported to police that they saw a 2006 Acura MDX leave the road several times and then weave back into traffic before it collided with several other vehicles between 17 Avenue S.E. and Memorial Drive.
When officers arrived, they checked on the drivers involved in the crash and soon learned from a witness that paramedics were struggling with the male driver of the Acura.
EMS and CFD members wrestled with the man inside the vehicle and one paramedic received a head injury in the altercation.
A second paramedic continued to grapple with the man while officers responded.
Three officers deployed conducted energy weapons to try and stop the man from assaulting paramedics and police believe that the second paramedic was shocked after unintentionally touching the wires of a discharged CEW.
The combative man was eventually removed from the vehicle and was restrained while EMS sedated him.
One paramedic was taken to hospital with head injuries in stable condition and the medic who was shocked was transported to hospital as a precaution. A police officer also received minor injuries in the incident.
“Violence against paramedics is unacceptable,” said Alberta Health Services EMS Chief Paramedic Darren Sandbeck in a statement to CTV News. ““We take the safety of our staff very seriously – no one should have to experience violence on the job. Unfortunately, this incident is an example of the risks our paramedics face from time to time when responding to provide care to patients.”
Police say that they believe that neither paramedic was directly hit by the CEW during the incident and that any contact they may have had was the result of the struggle inside the vehicle.
“I am incredibly thankful two Calgary paramedics assaulted while providing care to a patient were not seriously injured. I want to thank our emergency service partners for their assistance and support during and after this event,” said Sandbeck. “For privacy reasons, I cannot provide any specific details about their condition or cause of injury, only that we will continue to support them during their recovery and that we are working to reduce similar incidents in the future.”
Kent Douglas Wilson, 52, is charged with assault, assault causing bodily harm, assault against a peace officer and resisting arrest.
Investigators are looking at CCTV footage to determine exactly what happened and more charges are expected.
Wilson is scheduled to appear in court on the charges on July 5, 2017.
