The two EMTs accused of refusing to aid a dying pregnant woman while they bought breakfast told investigators that they couldn't treat the woman because of "protocol, training and regulations," according to the Post. Medics Melissa Jackson and Jason Green — who are dating — allegedly told employees at a Downtown Brooklyn Au Bon Pain to "call 911" instead of taking a look at Eutisha Revee Rennix, who collapsed in the eatery's backroom and died with her unborn child later that day.
According to their attorney Douglas Rosenthal, the EMTs — who have both been suspended and could face prison time — are assigned to a communication unit and "were prevented by protocol, training and regulations to intervene more acutely, as they currently do not work in a medical capacity and were equipped with neither medicine nor equipment." And Rosenthal ripped into recent criticism from other employees at the cafe, arguing that Rennix's coworkers "did not seem unduly concerned by the patient's condition."
Rosenthal told the Daily News that Jackson did the right thing when she called 911 and made a particularly good move by surpassing the 911 switchboard. "She called right upstairs," Rosenthal said. "If she had called 911 it would have taken even longer to get help." Though she did make the call, Jackson was allegedly "blasé" and "laid back" when she spoke to a dispatcher and purportedly asked the operator to keep her name off the call log.
The attorney also tried to make it clear that Rennix was not in the same room as the EMTs when she was suffering asthmatic symptoms and abdominal pain. "Everybody thinks the lady died at my client's feet and that's just untrue," he said. "It didn't happen the way it has been presented."
