Man Arrested at Phish Mondegreen Concert for Punching EMT
Delaware State Police recently announced the arrest of a 26-year-old man of Chestertown Maryland for Assault and Offensive Touching of an EMT at the Phish Mondegreen Festival in Dover. According to police, on August 16, 2024, at approximately 10:30 p.m., troopers on duty were notified that an attendee was under the influence and acting erratically. Medical personnel reported to the scene and while they were treating the suspect, he punched one EMT and then bit another. The suspect was taken to a local area hospital. The EMTs suffered minor injuries as a result of the attack.
After the defendant was released from the hospital, he was taken to Troop 3 where he was charged with Second-Degree Assault, injuring an EMT (a felony) and Offensive Touching of an EMT. Below, we’ll discuss these crimes.
Second-Degree Assault charges
11 Del. C. 1953, § 612 defines the crime of Assault in the Second Degree. Under the statute, a person is guilty of Assault in the Second Degree when:
- The person recklessly or intentionally causes serious physical injury to another person
- The person recklessly or intentionally causes physical injury to another person by means of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument
- The person intentionally causes physical injury to a law enforcement officer, a volunteer firefighter, emergency medical technician, paramedic, fire police officer, fire marshal, correctional officer, a sheriff, a deputy sheriff, a public transit operator, hospital security officer or constable, code enforcement constable, or a code enforce officer who is acting in the lawful performance of duty.
- The person intentionally causes physical injury to the operator of ambulance, a rescue squad member, licensed practical nurse, registered nurse, paramedic, licensed medical doctor, or any person providing health care treatment or employed by a health care provider while such a person is performing their work-related duty
The statute is larger than what’s listed here, but for the purposes of this article, we have described the relevant portion of the statute to the defendant’s crimes. Essentially, the law makes it a greater felony to attack, punch, kick, bite, or otherwise injure an EMT who is in the process of performing their duty. In this case, the drunk defendant attacked the EMT by punching him in the face and then bit another EMT. The law extends this provision to any health care professional or law enforcement officer who is in the line of duty at the time of the assault.
Luckily, neither of the EMTs were seriously injured or the defendant could be facing even steeper charges.
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Source:
dsp.delaware.gov/2024/08/19/troopers-arrest-maryland-man-for-assaulting-kent-county-emts-at-phish-mondegreen-festival/