Abuse will not be tolerated

PARAMEDICS go to work to save lives.

They don’t go to their jobs to have their lives threatened.

But that’s what happened to Kuranda paramedic Daniel Roberts when he tried to help a then-21-yearold William Wallace Barnes who had been knocked out by a spear tackle, was likely concussed and wandering about at night back in 2016.

Mr Roberts searched the streets for Barnes and even went to pains to show him that he was not a police officer and was only there to help.

Instead, for his troubles, Mr Roberts was spat in the face by Barnes with enough force to temporarily blind him.

Mr Roberts suffered depression after the assault, from “inconsolable misery” to “white hot anger” and was “less inclined to approach patients on my own, waiting for back up to arrive.”

Mr Roberts spent nine months undergoing tests for diseases after the assault. “I have suffered the indignity and suffering of this disgusting act,” he told the court

Mr Roberts described Barnes as “a scumbag” and was disappointed that he was sentenced to 12 months in jail to be served as an intensive community order and ordered to pay $2000 in compensation.

Paramedics are sick and tired of being assaulted while on duty. Their job is to help those who are injured or sick and not to be the victims of attacks. They should not have to wait for police officers to back them up, particularly if it is a life or death situation.

They deserve the utmost of respect. Read the signs on the back of ambulances: “Zero tolerance. No excuse for abuse.” Nick Dalton Deputy editor