Paramedics charged in teen’s death
Two paramedics accused of failing to properly care for a 19-year-old Good Samaritan have been charged in the young man’s death, a move the first-responders’ union called a game-changer for the profession.
Yosif Al-Hasnawi — described by police as a brave young man trying to do the right thing — was shot on Dec. 2, 2017, after he tried to help an older man who was being accosted by two men outside his mosque in Hamilton.
Hamilton police charged one man with second-degree murder and another with accessory after the fact shortly after the incident. Niagara regional police were then called in to investigate the way paramedics handled the case.
Witnesses alleged paramedics accused Al-Hasnawi of acting like his wounds were worse than they were, and that the first responders took too long to treat and transport the young man to hospital.
After a seven-month investigation, two paramedics were arrested this week, police said Thursday.
“This was a very difficult and challenging case for our investigators,” said Niagara regional police Chief Bryan MacCulloch. “We recognize that this continues to be a very tragic situation for the family of the deceased and our thoughts and condolences certainly go out to them.”
Steven Snively, 53, and Christopher Marchant, 29, have been charged with failure to provide necessaries of life. They were both released on a promise to appear in Hamilton court on Sept. 11, police said.
The president of a union representing the paramedics said the two men would be “vigorously defending” themselves.
“These precedent-setting criminal charges are game changers for our paramedic profession,” Mario Posteraro, of OPSEU Local 256 said in a statement. “We are confident that when the totality of the evidence is provided, they will be vindicated.”
The Paramedic Association of Canada said it would be watching the “significant” case closely.
“This truly is kind of unprecedented, in terms of a paramedic to be charged criminally,” said executive director Pierre Poirier. “Most of our health-care peers would be judged first by their regulatory college.”
Al-Hasnawi’s father and two brothers filed a civil lawsuit in January against Hamilton’s paramedics, alleging they failed to properly treat the man and claiming that their family suffered extreme emotional and mental distress.
“The fact that the plaintiffs witnessed the condition of their brother-son in a critically ill situation with no assistance from the defendant ambulance crew members or the police was devastating,” read the statement of claim.
The family is seeking $10 million in compensation for their personal and economic losses, as well as compensation for funeral and legal expenses.
The lawsuit also names Hamilton police, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton and the two men charged with second-degree murder and accessory after the fact.
The Hamilton Paramedic Service said it was in the process of completing its own investigation into AlHasnawi’s case and couldn’t comment further.
Al-Hasnawi’s mother welcomed the charges and said the paramedics needed to be held accountable.
“They’re putting people’s lives in danger,” said Amal Alzurufi. “But now I feel like justice is being served for him.”