Deputy Cody Hardy keeps his hands pressed into the back of 46 year old Ernesto Gonzalez as Gonzalez has already established himself as a serious threat.
Patient Pulls Knife on Ambulance Team, Deputies Quickly Respond, LIVINGSTON, May 23, 2015 - At approximately 11:45 pm on May 22, 2015, a two person crew with Americare Ambulance Service faced a life threatening situation when the patient that they were transporting decided to pull a knife on them.
It All Started With a House Call to Putnam's Landing... Medical personnel, Ginger Shults and Casey Weeks with Americare Ambulance Service were dispatched to a residence in Putnam's Landing for a medical situation. They decided to transport the patient, Ernesto Gonzalez, Jr. 46, of Livingston, CHI Livingston Memorial Hospital. While enroute to the hospital (with Shults driving and Weeks in the back with the patient), Gonzalez suddenly pulled a knife and jumped to his feet threatening Weeks. Weeks had a laptop computer in her hand and threw the computer at Gonzalez in self defense. Shults heard the noise and immediately stopped the ambulance and notified the Polk County Sheriff's Office of the situation (by now they were on 1988 South next to Thomas Supply). Shults stepped into the back, a scuffle ensued and Gonzalez got past Shults and Weeks and made it to the front of the ambulance, jumped into the driver's seat and put it in reverse, slammed on the brakes and then put it in drive. At that very second Lieutenant Craig Finnegan, Deputies Cody Hardy and Billy Duke, Corporal Adam Norris and Sergeant David Ramsey (all with the Polk County Sheriff's Office) arrived were able to pull Gonzalez from the ambulance and get it into park.
The Aftermath... Ginger Shults suffered a cut finger and Casey Weeks appeared to have bruised a shoulder. Ernesto Gonzalez was cuffed and charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. Instead of a trip to the hospital, Gonzalez got a trip to the big house (medical personnel are on hand at Polk County Jail if needed).
Deputy Hardy points the way as he and Corporal Adam Norris escort Gonazlez to a unit to be transported to Polk County Jail.
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