Family of dead man deny paramedics were assaulted trying to save him
THE family of a man whose death was used by a paramedic union to claim ambulance officers were threatened by “up to 80 angry males” and stopped from trying to save Hamze Ibrahim’s life have blasted the union for their “self-serving, reckless” comments.
NSW
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THE family of a man whose death was used by a paramedic union to claim ambulance officers were threatened by relatives and stopped from trying to save the man’s life have blasted the union for their “self-serving, reckless” comments.
Hamze Ibrahim, 25, died at a unit on Iris Avenue in Riverwood on Sunday.
His family’s lawyer, Raed Rahal, released a statement today hitting back at the Australian Paramedic Association’s version of events at the home where Mr Ibrahim died.
The union claimed a female paramedic was assaulted as “up to 80 angry males” gathered at the home and the family prevented ambulance officers from “trying to save” Mr Ibrahim’s life.
The inflammatory statement by the APA on Sunday night also said Mr Ibrahim was suffering from a “suspected overdose” — a claim his family strongly refuted as they said he did not use drugs and suffered from sleep apnoea.
The APA said the man’s family “became irate and tried to intervene” as they tried to treat the man.
“Paramedics were forced to fend off angry males who eventually forced them to stop treating the patient who was in cardiac arrest and subsequently died, ” APA NSW secretary Steve Pearce said in a statement on Sunday.
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“We had the outrageous situation where a violent mob demanded paramedics hand over a defibrillator and drugs, saying they would treat the patient.”
The APA also claimed more than 150 police officers attended the incident — something NSW Police refuted on Sunday night and said was untrue.
Mr Pearce also claimed: “Paramedics were released but by that time the patient was deceased. “This is outrageous behaviour by members of a family whose actions have most likely contributed to a death that may well have been avoidable. On this occasion the stupidity of these people have taken the life of their family member.”
The APA tried to use the situation to score political points and claim paramedics needed more security.
Mr Rahal hit back at the APA in a lengthy statement denying the family was aggressive and said claims that the family contributed to Mr Ibrahim’s death were “totally devoid of compassion and empathy”.
“Mr Ibrahim was a hard working and dedicated family man who was loved and respected by family and friends. He leaves behind a wife, a mother, siblings and a large extended family who are all devastated at his sudden passing. The pain family and friends are suffering at this time has been unjustifiably and unnecessarily amplified by the self serving, reckless and unfounded comments made by Australian Paramedics Association (the Association),” he said.
“The inaccurate comments made on behalf of the Association, which in essence, blames the family for the death of Mr Ibrahim, are totally devoid of compassion and empathy. Mr Ibrahim did not take drugs. He suffered from sleep apnoea. He had booked to travel overseas with his family for the purposes of undertaking the gastric sleeve operation. Sadly, this travel was to occur today.
“The family of Mr Ibrahim did not assault paramedics nor did they prevent paramedics from tending to Mr Ibrahim. The paramedics indicated to Mr Ibrahim’s family that they could not revive him. This news was; understandably, meet with distress and an emotional reaction from Mr Ibrahim’s family.
“Mr Ibrahim has a large extended family, most of which, reside in close proximity to the residence. Many members of Mr Ibrahim’s extended family and his friends attended the residence upon hearing of this tragedy.
“The large number of people who did attend were emotional and many had difficulty accepting what had occurred, however, none were violent or threatening towards paramedics or police. The sheer number of people, who did attend the residence, and the tense emotional circumstances surrounding the sudden death of a 25-year-old man, may have caused the paramedics to believe they required police attendance. The calling of police was not as a consequence of any direct threat or assault on a paramedic.”
Mr Rahal called for the union to stop circulating “misinformation” and said Mr Ibrahim “should be remembered for the fun loving, caring and family driven man that he was”.
“We ask that the memory of Mr Ibrahim be respected and that his family be allowed to grieve his passing in private.”