Pa. Medic Fired After Snow Storm Death Gets Job Back

PITTSBURGH --

A City of Pittsburgh paramedic who was fired after a man died during a massive snowstorm in February 2010 has her job back, but city officials said they plan to contest the decision.

Josie Dimon, who was suspended for five days before being terminated in April, was reinstated through arbitration.

City officials said the arbitrator ordered that Dimon be given a year's back pay and that only a three-day suspension appear on her record.

"The city does intend to appeal this situation and I've instructed the law department to move forward with that," said Director of Public Safety Michael Huss.

Dimon was acting crew chief on Feb. 7, 2010, when Curtis Mitchell, 50, was having abdominal pains and was unable to walk.

Paramedics were sent to Mitchell's Hazelwood home three times but were unable to reach him due to the more than 20 inches of snow that had fallen on the city since Feb. 5.

Records showed 10 calls were placed to 911 since 2 a.m. Feb. 6, and ambulances were unable to access the snow-covered street where Mitchell lived until after 8 a.m. Feb. 7, when he was already dead.

"I have a lot of concerns. It would be no different than having a gunfight and saying a police officer shouldn't respond because it's too dangerous," said Huss.

An autopsy showed Mitchell, 50, died of heart disease.

"Nobody has come forward to say 'a life was lost. We screwed up. We should accept responsibility,'" said Alan Perer, the attorney for Mitchell's daughter. "Why is the city, why is the county burying their head in the snow and saying, 'Well, let's see if we can get out of this?'"

At a news conference announcing Dimon's suspension, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Huss allowed reporters to hear tapes that were part of the city's internal investigation of Mitchell's death.

On one tape, a paramedic is heard calling Mitchell's home and telling his longtime partner, Sharon Edge, "Hello, I'm calling from the 911 center. He is going to have to wait. He should have went up there when they were up there the first time. He couldn't walk up to where they were. He's not going to be able to do it again. I mean, it is really bad out here. He should have tried to do something."

The Fraternal Association of Professional Paramedics issued the following statement Monday night:

Fraternal Association of Professional Paramedics agrees with the arbitrator’s ruling on Josie Dimon. The arbitrator agreed with the union’s evidence that Dimon was made a scapegoat for the tragedy of Curtis Mitchell’s death, after the mayor and Director of Public Safety Michael Huss were out of town during the snow emergency and were subject to media criticism for their failure to be present. In concluding that Dimon should be returned to work, the arbitrator found that despite that a major winter snowstorm had been forecast, the Mayor of the City and the Director of Public Safety Huss had gone to a resort about 50 miles away to celebrate the Mayor’s 30th birthday and only discharged Dimon two months after the incident, following media criticism of the City’s failure to deal well with the snow emergency. The arbitrator agreed that “the Union’s suggestion that Dimon became a scapegoat is worthy of serious consideration” after “the media had pounced on the story as an abdication of the City’s responsibility to its citizens.” The arbitrator also correctly found that Dimon and her partner were physically unable to reach Mr. Mitchell in the ambulance due to storm conditions and were told he was walking to the ambulance. The arbitrator also noted that the City EMS Chief testified that Dimon was an “outstanding” paramedic. The arbitrator found “the conduct of others in this ugly and lamentable storm scenario was far more culpable than that of [Josie Dimon].”When there is a breakdown of such magnitude, a true leader of an organization takes the responsibility on himself, and looks internally at how to repair a broken system. Mr. Mitchell and his family deserve at least that. Mr. Huss made an off the cuff remark recently about his shoulders being broad. This is a far cry from truly taking responsibility. The failure of the system does in fact lie on his “broad shoulders.” Just as it is a paramedic’s duty to do all they are physically capable of, it was Huss’ duty to protect Mr. Mitchell with an effective emergency response plan, which includes support and equipment that workers can utilize to effectively complete their duties. Our equipment and resources were inadequate for such a snow disaster prior to this tragedy. Since the fiasco last February, PSD Huss has instituted a new emergency action plan on many levels for the citizens of Pittsburgh. We say it is about time.

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