Paramedic loses medical registration after strangling partner, biting her nose

During another incident in 2022, he told her he would “burn her at the stake” before pulling her by the hair, trying to kick her in the head, and placing his hands around her neck and strangling her.

While the man was strangling the woman, he bit into her nose, causing bleeding and bruising around her eyes while their young child watched, pleading for him to stop.

The man then picked up his child, placed her in his car and drove roughly two metres before getting out and going back to the woman. He grabbed her by her hair and pulled her to the ground.

Neighbours overheard the yelling and called the police, who turned up shortly before 10pm and pushed the man on to a couch in his lounge.

The man reacted by unzipping the constable’s vest and attempted to get hold of their Taser before eventually being restrained with help from members of the public.

In 2023, the man also psychologically abused the woman over the phone while there was a protection order in place against him.

After pleading guilty he was given 11 months’ home detention by a District Court judge for seven offences relating to the 2022 incident, as well as concurrent terms of three months’ home detention for a further five offences.

In sentencing, the judge said, “What happened here was extraordinarily dangerous” and said that it was a “prolonged instance of family violence” which involved “serious acts of coercive control to dominate the victim”.

‘You can’t scream and die at the same time’

Following his convictions, a Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) of the Paramedic Council filed charges of professional misconduct against the man at the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal, claiming he was no longer fit to work as a paramedic.

The PCC said that the man’s convictions showed a serious loss of self-control in response to a situation that had made him angry, and his conduct did not reflect the high standards expected of a paramedic.

“It is relevant that paramedics may attend to victims of family violence, and that they may often do so in the victim’s own home.

“This practice environment requires a high degree of trust, particularly where patients will often have little to no say in who attends them,” their submissions read.

The PCC also noted that the paramedics were required to work closely with other first responders, including police, and that resisting arrest from a constable was particularly concerning.

The practitioner provided the tribunal with some context for his offending in that he claimed his partner was using methamphetamine against his wishes, which frustrated him.

He said his former partner had sought to minimise her role in the conflict, was pushing an incorrect narrative and had played the victim at every opportunity.

“[The ex-partner] stating that I am violent and controlling is an excellent scapegoat position for her behaviour however, not truthful or representative of the situation,” he told the PCC.

“My explanation for assaulting my partner is that I was trapped in an abusive and controlling relationship with her culminating in a predictable explosion of violence as the police, councilors [sic], colleagues, friends and families all avoided the obvious.”

The man said he questioned the woman’s evidence about the incident where he strangled her.

“You know, she told police ‘He grabbed me around the neck with two hands and I thought like I was going to die’. On the video recording, the evidence recording, she’s screaming the whole time,” he told the PCC in an interview.

“You can’t scream and die at the same time.”

The man also made a complaint to the Independent Police Conduct Authority about his arrest and the refusal of police officers to take his concerns about his partner seriously.

The man said that if he were working on an ambulance with another paramedic, there would be no reason why a patient wouldn’t be able to trust him.

Since the offending, he’s engaged in non-violence programmes and therapy as well as entering into a new relationship.

‘Little evidence of remorse’

The tribunal held a hearing into the man’s conduct late last year and, in a recently-released ruling, said it was satisfied that the reputation of paramedicine was lowered as a result of his actions.

In its ruling, the tribunal said that the man sought to justify his actions and minimise his conduct.

“During his evidence before the tribunal, there was little evidence of remorse. He repeatedly said that [his ex partner] was playing the victim,” the tribunal said.

Despite this, the tribunal said that potential patients of health practitioners who had engaged in family violence were not necessarily in danger from them.

However, the tribunal noted that the work of a paramedic involves teamwork and high levels of trust between colleagues, and between police and the fire service at callouts, including ones involving domestic violence.

“The lack of respect [the man] showed the police raises serious questions for the tribunal about his ability to work alongside the police in challenging situations.

“[He] should not underestimate the levels of discomfort many women feel when in the presence of someone with a history such as his. This applies to his colleagues and health consumers.”

The tribunal opted to cancel his registration with the Paramedics Council and forbid him from re-registering for at least two years, and ordered him to pay costs of $26,000.

However, this cancellation does not prevent the man from working as an Emergency Medical Technician, the tribunal conceded, noting that the role is similar to that of a paramedic but doesn’t require registration.

EMTs often assist paramedics who have more advanced training and can take on more complex medical care.

The man declined to comment to NZME.

Jeremy Wilkinson is an Open Justice reporter based in Manawatū covering courts and justice issues with an interest in tribunals. He has been a journalist for nearly a decade and has worked for NZME since 2022.