TOLD MEDIC SHE WILL BE KILLED

A woman who threatened to kill a female paramedic who was treating a young person in a Dundalk estate has been placed on probation for a year, with a number of conditions.

At an earlier sitting of the district court, Christine Reid, (44), 124 Castle Ross, admitted a summons for threatening or abusive behaviour arising out of the incident at Woodview Park on August 17 last year.

A female paramedic, who was in a vehicle and not an ambulance, had arrived on the estate following an emergency call about a youth who had taken a suspected overdose.

While the paramedic was walking the teenager towards the emergency vehicle, Reid ‘verbally interfered’ with her and was asked to ‘step back’. The defendant replied: ‘I’m sick of you speaking to me like that’. The paramedic later told Gardai she ‘didn’t know this woman from Adam’.

Reid told her she would ‘put in a 999 call to lure her back and kill her in the back of the ambulance’. Inspector Martin Beggy said the words ‘sounds very serious for the charge in front of the court’ which was threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour, under the Public Order Act.

Inspector Beggy said the paramedic ‘would have had concerns at that time because she goes to calls on her own’. He said Reid seemed to think there was a ‘attitude’ from the paramedic. Reid told Gardai she regretted the comments she made and apologised in her statement to officers.

The defendant has a number of previous convictions including for theft. Solicitor Niall Lavery said he hoped ‘it’s understood that the words (from Reid to the paramedic) were not sincerely meant’ and added Reid had taken alcohol on the day.

He said the defendant knew the young man who was being attended to and knew she should have kept away and it was ‘entirely inappropriate for her to be doing this and she is thoroughly ashamed’.

She had not come to the attention of Gardai since this incident and co-operated with officers. Mr Lavery said Reid ‘disputes what was said, but she is not in a position to contest it because she had been drinking’.

Mr Lavery said Reid has six children and he hoped this incident was ‘ a blip’. Reid had addiction issues in the past and has ‘ lost a number of family members in the recent past’. In addition, ‘ she accepts that she continues to deal with temptation and has been undergoing counselling for a period of time’.

The case had been adjourned for a probation report, which recommended that Reid be placed under their supervision for a year. Judge Brennan imposed the recommendation on conditions, including that Reid continues to attend all Probation appointments, engages with addiction service and doesn’t re-offend.