One of the men
attacked in a Massachusetts gay bar by a hatchet-wielding
teenager filed a complaint with the state alleging
paramedics gave him substandard treatment because he
is gay. Robert Perry was hit in the head with the
hatchet and shot in the back by 18-year-old Jacob Robida,
who later killed himself during a police chase in
Arkansas. Two other men also were injured in the
attack early February 2 in Puzzles Lounge.
In a complaint filed with the Massachusetts
Department of Public Health in Boston, Perry says the
New Bedford paramedics took too long taking him to a
hospital, were physically and verbally abusive, and shared
private medical information with his family without
his permission.
Perry, 52, of Dartmouth, is clinical services
director at an ambulance service in Boston. He said in
a separate complaint letter to New Bedford's mayor
that he could not recall any action by an ambulance crew
"so cruel and hate-filled" in his 29 years in medicine.
Mayor Scott Lang said the city would take the
allegations "very seriously." Steve Arruda, acting
deputy director of New Bedford's emergency medical
services, declined to comment because of an ongoing
investigation into Perry's complaint. (AP)
Here's our dream all-queer cast for 'The White Lotus' season 4