A MAN who attacked a paramedic while armed with a wheel brace and hammer after an ambulance had arrived to assist him will be sentenced next week.
James Doyle (33), claimed he had been trying to take his own life at the time when paramedics found him slumped over the wheel of his car.
His victim, paramedic Derek O’Rourke, told the court the attack made him question his line of work, and that he regularly encounters violent incidents in his job. He said he had been the victim of another assault only two nights ago.
Mr O’Rourke said his management and union had let him and his colleagues down by failing to ensure they were properly protected while on emergency calls.
The paramedic refused an offer of compensation, saying he would prefer money to be paid to Tallaght children’s hospital.
Doyle, of Glenshane Grove, Tallaght, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assault and production of the wheel brace and hammer with intent to intimidate on March 13th, 2009, on Ellensborough Drive, Tallaght.
He has three previous convictions for possession of drugs, criminal damage and car theft.
Garda JP Donoghue told Colm O’Briain, prosecuting, that an ambulance was called when Doyle was spotted slumped over the wheel of a car.
When Mr O’Rourke and his colleague arrived they opened the car door and Doyle woke up.
Doyle told them to “Just f*** off,” adding: “I want to get some sleep.”
He appeared highly intoxicated, and the paramedics told him they were concerned he might be diabetic and asked to check his blood sugar level.
Doyle became aggressive and told them: “You won’t find any alcohol in my blood.”
Due to Doyle’s aggression, Mr O’Rourke called gardaí from the ambulance. He then decided to return to the car to take the keys from the ignition so Doyle could not attempt to drive in his intoxicated state.
When he sought to remove the keys, Doyle called him a “f***ing scumbag” and got out of the car. He pushed Mr O’Rourke, causing him to fall backwards. He then tried to punch him, but the paramedic dodged the blow.
His colleague ran back to the ambulance to press the panic button, while Doyle returned to the car and armed himself with a hammer and wheel brace.
He told Mr O’Rourke he would “f***ing kill” him, and struck him on the shoulder with the wheel brace.
The paramedic was chased up the road by Doyle, and threw his keys into a field in the hope Doyle would stop chasing him and go to retrieve them.
Doyle then threw the hammer at Mr O’Rourke, but missed him. He stopped chasing him and went to get the hammer and his keys. Gardaí arrived shortly afterwards and arrested Doyle, who was still extremely aggressive.
When they asked for his name he replied “Jack the f***ing ripper”, and gardaí had to call for back-up to restrain him and put him in the Garda car.
Kieran Kelly, defending, said Doyle’s father had died the previous Christmas, and Doyle had become involved in a custody battle with his former partner over their son.
He said he had become heavily involved in drugs and had decided to take his own life.
He said Doyle was now clean of drugs and was living with a new girlfriend who was a stabilising influence.
He offered his client’s “deep apologies” to the victim, and said he had €500 in court as a token of his remorse.
Mr O’Rourke said he would not like to take the money because Doyle was on social welfare and supporting a child, and probably needed it. When Judge Patrick McCartan asked him whether he would accept €2,500 from Doyle to make up for lost earnings he suffered as a result of the attack, the paramedic replied that he would rather the money be donated to Tallaght children’s hospital.
Judge McCartan said Doyle behaved in an “appalling manner” and there was no excuse for what he did.
He adjourned the case until next week for sentencing.
VICTIM'S STATEMENT 'OUR MEMBERS ARE BEING FACED WITH ASSAULT AND INTIMIDATION':IN A statement outside the court, assault victim Derek O'Rourke said the issue of paramedics' safety was being "brushed over" by the HSE and Siptu.
He called on management to issue protective equipment to emergency workers and said there was “a complete system failure” in the way his incident was handled.
“I’m here on my own today without the support of management,” he said outside court. “In the days, the weeks, the hours after this incident, I never got so much as a phone call from senior management to ask me how I was.
“All we are are a number to these people who sit in offices, nine to five, Monday to Friday, and don’t know the role we play in society.”
Mr O’Rourke said emergency workers faced attacks such as the one he was subjected to every day, and that he was assaulted again only two nights ago. He said that incident was being investigated by gardaí.
“We’ve highlighted this issue on numerous occasions with the HSE National Ambulance Service and Siptu, who represent the majority of paramedics in the National Ambulance Service, and it’s been brushed over and painted over.
“They don’t want to bring attention to the issue, but attention needs to be brought to it because our members are being faced with assault and intimidation on a daily basis.
“We don’t have the adequate personal equipment to deal with these types of incidents,” Mr O’Rourke continued. “If you look at security guards in hospitals around the country, they’re equipped with protective vests to protect them from the people we bring in, and are isolated with, in the back of ambulances. It’s not acceptable any more.”