Rainbow Serpent festival-goer attacks paramedics

A man on a five-day bender following on from the controversial Rainbow Serpent festival attacked two paramedics as they tried to help him, punching a female paramedic several times.

Revellers at Rainbow Serpent. The man had continued on a bender after the festival.

A man on a five-day bender following on from the controversial Rainbow Serpent festival attacked two paramedics as they tried to help him, punching a female paramedic several times.

The paramedics had been called to Reynard St in Coburg at 10.45pm on Tuesday after reports that a man needed medical assistance, police said.

The man had appeared approachable as the two paramedics arrived, but turned on them once they had him in the back of the ambulance.

The man put the female paramedic, 29, into a headlock and punched her several times, before attacking the male paramedic.

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Passersby helped restrain the man until police arrived and took him to hospital to be assessed.

Ambulance Victoria chief executive Tony Walker said it was an “absolutely disgusting” attack.

He told 3AW the man appeared to be drug-affected, and had been seen knocking on doors and behaving erratically.

He allegedly punched the female paramedic in the face several times while inside the ambulance.

“He’s without warning just reached up and grabbed one of the paramedics around the head and neck and punched her in the face. Just disgusting,” Mr Walker told 3AW.

He also said the woman’s colleague was pushed up against the side of the ambulance.

“Bystanders saw the commotion, and the ambulance was stationary at the time, and have actually opened the door and helped them,” Mr Walker said.

“They’ve helped the paramedics then restrained the person while they sedated him.

“We can’t thank them enough.”

The paramedics were assessed at the scene but did not need to go to hospital.

The man is expected to be interviewed and the investigation is ongoing.

Ambulance Employee Union secretary Danny Hill said he had spoken to the female paramedic, who was “incredibly traumatised”.

“They will recover from the physical injuries, but the mental scars can last your entire career,” he said.

“These incidents can be career ending.”

Mr Hill said the incident was “one of the most savage and brutal attacks we’ve seen in recent times”.

“This is the reason we pushed so hard to get changes to the law,” he said.

“I hope the full spirit of the law is taken into consideration when it comes to deciding the maximum penalty for this shocking attack.”

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