Four of the firefighters facing termination over the response of the fatal mugging of a New York Times journalist were charged by the department with obstructing the investigation.
Three of the four were also charged with violating department protocols in responding to a Jan. 6 call where veteran reporter David E. Rosenbaum was found near his Gramercy Park home. The crew mistakenly thought Rosenbaum was intoxicated. He died two days later.
All four firefighters will go separately before the department’s trial board this month. The first hearing is set for July 14. The board will likely make its decision by the end of this month. D.C. Fire Chief Adrian Thompson will choose either to agree with any recommendations or he can impose lesser punishment, but he cannot mandate harsher punishment.
Fire department officials can’t discuss the charges because they involve personnel matters, but D.C. Fire Department spokesman Alan Etter said Thompson asked for the inspector general’s investigation because he thought that the responders were not forthcoming in the department’s initial review.
The inspector general’s report notes multiple discrepancies. Among the findings of obstruction: The ambulance crew at first indicated to a review panel that it hadn’t noticed any bleeding from Rosenbaum’s head, but neighbors and police recall that firefighters held a white bandage to the patient’s head.
An inspector general’s report released in June found “an unacceptable chain of failure in the provision of emergency medical and other services.” The ambulance crew got lost, then mistakenly assumed Rosenbaum was intoxicated and failed to perform a complete patient assessment. The crew then classified Rosenbaum as a low priority before transporting him to Howard University Hospital instead of a closer facility.
Rosenbaum was left on a gurney in a hallway for more than an hour before someone discovered his severe head wound.
The report also noted several protocol violations. The firefighter in charge didn’t have a current CPR certification; the firefighter with the highest level of pre-hospital training did not take charge; a firefighter administered oxygen to the patient at 25 liters per minute, exceeding the accepted medical practice of 15 liters per minute.
