Store employee fired after ‘booting’ ambulance

New York, Dec 12 : One generally assumes that an ambulance with its lights flashing can park wherever it pleases. This past weekend in New Orleans, a parked ambulance was "booted" by a convenience store employee, who was apparently annoyed that the ambulance had parked in his store's lot. Never mind that the paramedics were treating a man inside the store. That employee has since been fired.

According to a report from WWLTV.com, the paramedics put the patient in the back of the ambulance and began to drive away when the vehicle came to a sudden stop. The medics saw that someone had put a boot on their vehicle. When a store employee finally removed the boot, the tire was flat. The paramedics had to call for backup while the man with chest pains waited in the back.

Jeb Tate, spokesman for New Orleans Emergency Medical Services, said, "We actually had to delay that patient's care by calling another ambulance out here to come transport this patient."

Now, a few days later, WWLTV.com reports that the convenience store employee has been fired and issued a citation by the New Orleans Police Department for simple criminal damage to property. According to the police report, the man, Ahmed Sidi Aleywa, claimed that he didn't know that the vehicle was an ambulance and that he doesn't speak English.

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