13 July 2012
A man who head-butted an ambulance worker while she was
treating him has been given a 30-day prison sentence.
Marcin Wroblewski, 25, was convicted of common assault
in West London Magistrates Court on Wednesday (11
July).
Emergency Medical Technician Paula Waters was on duty with her
crewmate in the early hours of 6 June when they were called to a
man lying on the pavement on Uxbridge Road, W12.
The patient was initially unresponsive when the ambulance crew
began treating him. The concerned couple who had called 999 told
them he smelled of alcohol.
Paula, who’s based at Fulham ambulance station, said: “He was
lying on his back with cans of beer around him, and a woman was
supporting his head.
“We checked his pulse and he started to come round. As he got to
his feet he kept his head down and then head-butted me squarely in
the chest before taking a swing, which missed, at my crewmate.
“He ran across the road and started kicking a bike that was
chained up. We immediately called for the police over the
radio.
“We could see the man was still far too aggressive so we
followed him down the street where he started kicking some wheelie
bins. In a few minutes the police arrived and arrested him.
“I’ve been in the job 11 years and I can get a sense of when a
situation can turn, but this all happened so quickly it caught me
off guard. When I saw what he did to the bike I thought ‘that
could’ve been me’.
“I’m just really pleased at how quickly the police responded and
for the support from my colleagues at the Service.”
Paula was uninjured in the incident and returned to work
straight away.
Mr Wroblewski, of no fixed abode, was sentenced to 30 days in
prison, and to pay court costs. However, the magistrate noted that
the defendant was not employed, and since he had already served 34
days on remand his sentence was deemed as served.
Fulham Ambulance Operations Manager Paul Smith said: “This case
demonstrates that assaults on staff will not be tolerated. Our
staff should be able to treat patients in their community without
fear of being attacked.”
- Ends -
Notes to editors:
- Details of the sentence - Marcin Wroblewski was given a 30-day
prison sentence. Since he had served 34 days on remand it was
deemed as served. The magistrate would have ordered the defendant
to pay court costs and compensation to Paula Waters, but since he
was unemployed, and unlikely to be able to do this, it deemed as
served due to the additional period of remand above the
sentence.
- For further information about the London Ambulance Service or
this news release please contact the communications department on
020 7783 2286.
- Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ldn_ambulance
or visit us on facebook at www.facebook.com/londonambulanceservice