Teen attacked female paramedic who was treating him

A TEENAGER assaulted a female paramedic who was treating him after he collapsed in the street following a drinking session in which he took what was described as a “Never Never Land pill”.

Lee Ciarkowski lashed out at and spat at ambulance staff who came to his aid. The 18-year-old grabbed the arm of one paramedic, causing a large bruise.

Ciarkowski appeared at Leicester Magistrates Court yesterday (Mon) to admit the assault on the woman in Hinckley town centre on March 4.

His victim, who was working as a solo paramedic in a fast response vehicle, was called to reports of an unconscious man late in the evening.

Mark Bishop, prosecuting, said she arrived to see Ciarkowski lying on his back, surrounded by a crowd.

He said the defendant was unresponsive, so she began to treat him.

Mr Bishop said: “She was with him for 20 minutes.

“She believed he had taken drugs and alcohol.”

She put a blanket round his shoulders but when another ambulance crew arrived, Ciarkowski became violent, spitting and lashing out.

Mr Bishop said: “He grabbed her arm and she sustained bruising on her arm which left her in real pain.”

In a victim impact statement read to the court, the paramedic, who has 23 years of experience, said she still had problems lifting and the injury had affected her day-to-day work.

She said: “I don’t expect to go to work and be assaulted by people who have taken alcohol.”

Mr Bishop said the defendant, who has no previous convictions, admitted taking “some pills”.’

Duncan Jefferson, defending, said: “He was given what he described as a Never Never Land pill by a supposed friend before he went out drinking and he couldn’t remember anything after midnight until waking up in a police station the next morning.

“The defendant says he cannot remember much of what happened, but he accepts it must have happened. He is very embarrassed and quite shocked.”

Mr Jefferson said Ciarkowski, a joiner from Sword Drive, Hinckley, had not taken any pills since the incident, or been out in the evening.

He added: “He is remorseful and entered a guilty plea at the first pos- drugs and sible opportunity.”

Magistrates told Ciarkowski there were “aware of your immaturity” and ordered him to pay the paramedic £200 in com- pensation, as well as £85 court costs and an £85 victim surcharge.

He was also ordered to do 100 hours of unpaid work.