Poznań: paramedics attacked in the street during intervention

The police in Poznań are investigating the case of a scuffle that broke out between a paramedic and two young persons. The incident took place on Saturday night at Podgórna street in central Poznań. According to the police, the paramedic team was called to tend to an unconscious woman. The medics were to be bothered by passersby.

"The parademics arrived at the scene, left their vehicle and from the first moment the people surrounding them acted very aggressively. They complained that the switched on blue lights were blinding them. They had a problem with a paramedic holding a tablet, which is our regular work tool. Maybe someone interpreted it that the rescuer was watching social media. As a result, the medics went back inside the ambulance, called for a police patrol to help them, and waited in the vehicle," said Robert Judek, a spokesman for the Voivodeship Emergency Medical Service Station in Poznań.

As he explained, retreat of a team in dangerous situations was a normal procedure, which was meant to prevent the emotions from escalating. "When the group moved away, the rescuers returned to the person in need. Unfortunately, those persons noticed the medics were outside the ambulance and returned. One person hit a paramedic in the face with a fist. What happened later can be seen in the video. The rescuer is trying to chase the attacker away," Judek said.

The video published by WTK TV station lasts about 40 seconds. It shows a paramedic moving away from the ambulance and quickly following a man, who nervously looks over his shoulder. After walking a few meters, the rescuer turns back towards the ambulance. Suddenly a woman gets in his way and attacks him with a bottle. The woman misses, the paramedic avoids a blow. The next moment the paramedic is approached by the man he followed earlier. The said man joins the scuffle and the pushed back woman smashes against a shopwindow.

A witness recorded a short video of the incident. "It's always important for us to settle such situations as soon as possible, and so happened in this case too. I'd like to appeal to simply let us do our work," Judek added.

"One of the paramedics came to us and filed an official complaint regarding a physical assault and violating his bodily integrity. (...) The author of the video focused on the moment when this rescuers was indeed protecting himself, but we will be investigating what happened exactly," said Greater Poland police spokesman Andrzej Borowiak. He also appealed: "If there are any witnesses of this incident, please contact Poznań-Stare Miasto police station.".

The police spokesman added the aggressive people seen in the recording had their IDs checked. Next, the man was allowed to go home, while the woman was taken to a sobering centre.