NEW YORK (AP) — New York City ambulance workers are being told to keep their guard up after two crews were robbed this week while responding to what turned out to be phony emergency calls.
In the latest incident, police say a man pulled a gun on two fire department emergency medical technicians around 2:30 a.m. Saturday and demanded they hand over their radios and medical bag.
The confrontation happened in an elevator at the Cooper Park Houses, a public housing complex in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, as the EMTs were responding to a 911 call that purported a person was having a seizure.
On Monday, two Brooklyn hospital EMTs were robbed in an elevator at the Seth Low Houses, a public housing complex in Brownsville. A man hit the emergency stop button and demanded the EMTs hand over their medical bags, tablets and radios, police said.
The EMTs in Monday’s incident were responding to a call for a person with breathing troubles, which turned out to be false.
“EMS workers play a pivotal role in keeping New Yorkers safe during emergency situations,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison said in a department tweet. “Our detectives are committed to bringing the individuals responsible for the two robberies in one week against them to justice.”