Body camera footage released last week shows police officers having to rush a man who was shot 16 times to the hospital after Emergency Medical Services (EMS) refused to pick him up.
Ronald Newberry, 22, was shot 16 times pulling out of his driveway on Jan. 14, CNN reported. He drove an additional quarter of a mile down the street outside of Cleveland’s city limits into Euclid, Ohio.
Body camera footage shows Newberry writhing in pain as police officers provide medical care to Newberry while waiting for an ambulance to come pick him up.
All ambulances from Euclid were busy on calls and were unable to pick him up. Cleveland EMS refused to pick up Newberry because despite being from Cleveland, Newberry had driven outside the city limits into Euclid. The officers would have to wait for an ambulance from a city that was farther away.
South Euclid’s ambulance was at the scene of a fire and was not available to pick Newberry up.
“Our EMS [Cleveland] won’t come,” an officer can be heard saying in the video while Newberry begs to be taken to a hospital. “They won’t come because it’s in your city [Euclid]. Even though it’s our victim, they won’t come.”
The police officers decided to pick the man up and put him in the back of a patrol car and drive to Euclid hospital, which was only a few minutes away.
When they arrived at the hospital, the officer put Newberry on a gurney. Newberry was later flown to MetroHealth Hospital in Cleveland.
Newberry suffered from several gunshot wounds to the right side of his chest, his right knee, his right shoulder, his right hand, his left knee and his left foot.
Newberry’s girlfriend told CNN that he was released from the hospital last weekend after recovering from his wounds.
The incident is under review, a spokesman for the city of Cleveland told CNN.
