Pete and Cheryl Paseka of Warsaw filed formal complaints against Multi-Township EMS, Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory and Indiana State Police following a Sept. 7 incident at their home which they claim MTEMS medics disregarded the law and the couple’s civil rights.
The Pasekas attended the MTEMS board of directors meeting Wednesday where they were offered the floor to state why they were present. Pete Paseka said he had filed the formal complaint on or about Sept. 17 but, to date, had not yet received any kind of response. Scott Sigerfoos, director of operations for MTEMS, said the complaint, along with the medic’s records from the incident, has all been turned over to the MTEMS attorney and is now also “going through the peer review process.”
Paseka noted he will not be paying any medical bills related to the incident noting MTEMS acted outside of their legal ability and forced law enforcement and first responders of WWFT to also act unprofessionally and without legal basis. “They were on private property and they refused our wishes,” he added.
None of the board members had any comment on the matter.
The Pasekas provided copies of their formal complaints to StaceyPageOnline.com. The nearly 3-page letter details the incidents of Sept. 7. It was a Saturday night and the couple was hosting an annual fall party at their residence on Ferguson Road, Warsaw.
At some point during the party, Cheryl had become intoxicated and fell ill. She was being cared for at the home by a friend of the couple who is a medical professional and trained in emergency care. Without the knowledge of the Pasekas, someone called for an ambulance.
Pete Paseka said he met the medics at the end of his driveway and told them they were not needed. “They got rude with me and proceeded onto our property. I believe at this time, assistance by law enforcement was requested by fire personnel. When the troopers arrived, they were informed of the situation. Troopers were advised, by me, that assistance by emergency was not needed and we were refusing treatment.”
But the incident, according to the Pasekas, only escalated when two medics ignored Pete’s demands to leave the property. Even Cheryl was responding to specific questions and refusing treatment.
“At that time the troopers informed the emergency personnel that since no laws were being broken and my wife was responding to questions … they were done with the scene, which according to our counsel, that is what they were obligated to do.”
But the Pasekas say the matter still did not end there.
“At some point they gave my wife a BAC test … She continued to answer questions when asked, which is inconsequential since we were on our own property and not breaking any laws,” added Pete.
In their complaint, the Pasekas allege, “We were basically told we had no choice to be treated and we got in the ambulance to avoid a situation where someone went to jail.”
The couple feels that, not only were their rights violated, they believe the medics of MTEMS bullied them into submission. “According to our legal counsel, we can refuse medical treatment regardless of the situation as long as no laws were broken causing the medical situation,” wrote Pete. “Being intoxicated on one’s own property is not against the law. No one had any legal right to even lay a hand on my wife to even access her since we refused treatment.”
The Pasekas received no answers from the MTEMS board of directors today. They say they have also not heard responses from Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory or Indiana State Police. StaceyPageOnline.com has learned that an incident report was filed by an ISP Trooper, but so far our request to access the report has gone unanswered.
The MTEMS board of directors includes president Jerry Kammerer, Sheila Bruner, Kim Finch, Ron Robinson, Gary Sponseller, Dean Rhoades and Roger Schori.