An FDNY lieutenant was arrested Saturday on suspicion of strangling a city emergency medical technician during a violent altercation on duty, officials said.
Neil Francis, 47, of Engine 234 in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, was charged with strangulation, police said.
The NYPD did not release details of the crash, including whether there were any serious injuries or who the victims were, but multiple sources told the Post that Francis was killed early Saturday morning. Both men were arrested while on duty for allegedly strangling a paramedic.
Firefighters and medical personnel typically responded to the same emergency calls.
A spokeswoman for the FDNY, which oversees paramedics and EMTs, said she needed to see arrest documents before commenting, but the department is aware the alleged victim is an EMT. He said he is doing so. It was not immediately known Saturday night whether Francis would face disciplinary action.
Francis, who earned $168,205 last year, including overtime, could not be reached for comment.
Although attacks on health care workers by firefighters are rare, assaults on health care workers by civilians are on the rise.
In November, Oren Barzilai, president of the union representing more than 4,100 paramedics and medical workers in the city, told the city council, “The number of assaults by paramedics is at an all-time high.”
The council is currently considering two bills by Minority Leader Joe Borelli (R-Staten Island). Its purpose is to protect first responders by ensuring they wear bulletproof and blade-proof vests and provide annual self-defense and de-escalation training.
