Maryland Man Arrested, Accused of Impersonating EMT on Calls

Feeling faint, Jose Cintron called 911 last month. Two emergency responders soon arrived at his Joppa home.

One of them - a polite young man, Cintron recalls - knelt down and checked his blood pressure and blood oxygen level.

"No one ever checks my oxygen," said Cintron, 67, who has experienced episodes of low blood pressure and shortness of breath since being hospitalized for pneumonia in 2004. "He said, `I'm not a doctor, so you should check with a doctor.'"

Not only was the man not a doctor, but he wasn't even an emergency responder, police say.

Robert Joseph Smith, 24, of Aberdeen, was arrested this week, accused of impersonating an emergency medical technician and of theft. Police said Smith acknowledged stealing equipment in May from the Abingdon Fire Company and responding to calls in full gear.

Firefighters became suspicious three weeks ago. Returning to the firehouse to submit an incident report, Smith was unable to enter information into a computer. He said he couldn't remember his identification number - which William Dousa, a board member and medic at fire company, said is not uncommon for less-active responders. But it raised questions.

Police arrested Smith on Tuesday in Abingdon. He was being held on $3,000 bail late yesterday afternoon, police said.

Fire officials are considering issuing identification cards to all emergency medical responders as a result of the incident and say it illuminates the strain on the county's emergency medical service, an all-volunteer system that has become increasingly taxed in recent years because of the increasing volume of service calls in a rapidly growing county.

EMS responders sometimes must drive themselves or meet up with an ambulance to get to the scene. And in a profession based largely on trust, a person who arrives with the right gear and knows procedure could go unchecked, fire officials said.

"He gave us a wake-up call," Dousa said.

Police and fire officials said Smith did not appear to have malicious intent. But they recognize the potentially serious consequences of such an incident.

"This guy infringed on public safety by performing a service he's not trained to do," said Robert B. Thomas, a spokesman for the Harford County sheriff's office.

Thomas said county fire departments "better start asking questions."

"You don't allow people to arbitrarily get into an environment with ... vulnerable, trusting citizens," he said.

The incident also raises questions about liability in the event that a patient were to suffer harm. Volunteer emergency response organizations in Maryland are insulated by state law from civil liability for events that occur in the course of performing duties, according to the National Volunteer Fire Council. Exceptions can be made for "willful or grossly negligent acts."

According to fire company records, Smith's mother had been an EMS member at Abingdon, and Smith was a fire company member for a short time before being suspended in 1998 for stealing a pager. There was no record of his training as an emergency medical technician, though all firefighters receive first-aid training.

"Because of his family history, he knew the system," Dousa said.

To craft the right image, Smith resorted to theft, police said. According to charging documents, he admitted stealing items from the firehouse: an EMS jacket, a pair of pants, fire boots, a sweat shirt, a red medical bag, a clipboard and paperwork, and a radio.

Smith monitored the radio for calls from the county dispatch center, Dousa and police said. He would radio to say he was on the way, using a number code that related to a specific company, according to police. A police report lists three incidents from November and December to which it says Smith responded.

The first allegedly came Nov. 24, when he is said to have responded to the 1400 block of Pulaski Highway, along with an ambulance from the Joppa Magnolia Fire Company. He identified himself to two firefighters as an EMT-B, or a basic first responder, and assisted with the care of a patient, according to the police report.

On Dec. 22, Smith arrived at Cintron's home and checked his condition as a Joppa-Magnolia volunteer firefighter watched, according to Cintron. Cintron said he declined to be taken to the hospital. Smith allegedly returned to the firehouse and responded to a call on Philadelphia Road in which the patient was taken to Upper Chesapeake Medical Center.

Charging documents said Smith was captured on the hospital's security camera and signed as the caregiver for the transport.

"It's a trust issue," said Rich Gardiner, a spokesman for the Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company. "You tell me you're certified, you give me all the information, I'm gonna take your word for it and we're gonna go with it. You can't make this stuff up. He had his bases covered."

Fire officials said they will push for a countywide system requiring responders to carry identification they would have to show to patients and fellow responders. They will also send sheriff's deputies to the homes of former EMTs and firefighters to collect their identification cards. Smith had his old ID card at the time of his arrest, documents show.

When told that one of the men who alleged to have responded wasn't an EMT, Cintron chuckled and said Smith was cordial and helped him.

"He was very polite," Cintron said. "I've got nothing against the two guys who came over."

justin.fenton@baltsun.com