WAVY investigation reveals state officials were dishonest about Newport News death probe
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) – An exclusive 10 On Your Side investigation revealed officials with the State Office of Emergency Medical Services (OEMS) were informed of the investigation that led to the firing of two Newport News firefighters back in October, contrary to a statement provided to WAVY TV in April.
2 Newport News firefighters terminated after delay of aid in fatal incident
Emails received following a FOIA request to OEMS show Newport News Fire Chief Wesley Rogers sent an official notice of the delay of care investigation on October 27.
Rogers initially opened an investigation within his department after first responders declared 39-year-old Quandrell Williams dead on arrival, when he was actually alive. Williams was shot on a porch behind an apartment off Garden Drive in Newport News on October 15. He died at the hospital 10 days later. As WAVY has reported, sources said he laid alive for nearly an hour before EMS personnel transported him to the hospital.
When WAVY initially sat down for an exclusive interview with then-interim Fire Chief Rogers and Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew, Rogers said he reported the incident to OEMS, the agency that oversees the statewide EMS system.
“Upon this incident, it’s incumbent upon me as the director to notify the state that the incident had occurred, and now it’s up to the state and their legislative regulations to determine if they conduct an investigation at that point,” Rogers said back in April.
When 10 On Your Side initially broke the exclusive investigation in April, our team contacted OEMS, asking if it had opened an investigation into the incident.
“OEMS has no open investigation concerning this provider and has no record of the reported related incident,” the office said in an email.
In response to subsequent follow-up questions, Rogers continued to insist he had notified them.
To get to the bottom of who was telling the truth, our investigative team filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with OEMS for all written communications from or by the Fire Chief regarding the Oct. 15, 2023 shooting incident and EMS response.
Several weeks later we received answers.
The Email Trail
Emails show that Rogers contacted OEMS on Oct. 27, two days after Williams’ death. He sent an official notification letter to OEMS Director of Regulation and Compliance Enforcement Division Director Ron Passmore explaining that an internal investigation was underway offering assistance and information.
“We take this incident very seriously, and our internal affairs at the NNFD Fire Marshall Office is handling the investigation,” it reads. “All employees on the scene have been placed on leave pending the outcome of the investigation. Also, all appropriate internal notifications on the incident have been made, including our Medical Director, Dr. Cheryl Lawson.”
On Oct. 29, Passmore sent an email to Chad Gregg, an investigator in the Enforcement Division, asking if he was familiar with the issue.
“I thought I would pass it along to you, so you could contact the agency to find out if a compliance case needs to be created or not,” he said. “Let me know what you find out.”
“I am unaware of this situation as well,” Gregg replied the following day. “I will reach out to them today and see what I can find out about it.”
In January, Rogers left a voicemail on Greggs’ phone notifying him that the department had closed their investigation into a case they’d notified his office about. He asked for Gregg to call him back, so he could give him an update.
Based on the documentation WAVY received following those exchanges, there was no OEMS compliance case opened. In fact, the paper trail stops there for months.
It wasn’t until April 9 that the issue came up in fire department emails again. Rogers sent a message to Gregg with Passmore CC-ed.
“WAVY News has now reported that your office, VA Office of EMS, is denying any knowledge of the incident and stating the agency failed to notify appropriately,” he said. “I respectfully ask for a return phone call in reference to this situation.”
Rogers also reiterated that he’d sent a letter to the office and reached out to Gregg on several occasions.
On April 11, Passmore sent a reply explaining that Gregg had completed a timeline of events regarding Roger’s agency’s contact with OEMS over the last six months.
In the email, Passmore said he asked Gregg to follow up with Rogers directly on the matter because he was the primary point of contact. He then directed Rogers to a link to report a complaint to OEMS should he need to.
10 On Your Side looked to a local expert to decipher if the protocol was followed. Steve Pincus with the Peninsula Emergency Medical Services Council says Rogers did follow protocol.
“If it’s egregious and there’s gross negligence, that’s, some of the time, exactly when they should inform the Office of Emergency Medical Services and things like that,” he said. “They are the ones who are the enforcement agency, not the department itself. It all goes to the Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Services.”
“Gross Negligence”
Due to the Newport News investigation into that incident, two NNFD firefighters, one of whom had been employed there for 15 years, were fired.
10 On Your Side also has been told both terminated firefighters found employment with the Newport News Shipbuilding Fire Department — though the organization declined to comment.
Thus, raising concerns about how they remained certified and can still practice as medics after “gross negligence” as Pincus described it.
Pincus said it’s ultimately up to OEMS to revoke certifications, not the city department.
“That is actually one of the enforcement remedies that comes from the office of EMS itself. They will have to institute an investigation into the particular call,” Pincus said.
Family announces intent to seek damages against city
In a letter sent to the city attorney on April 2, lawyers for William’s family announced they intend to seek damages against the city’s EMS and police employees. They accused them of “wrongful, negligent and otherwise improper conduct.”
2024-04-02-Notice-Letter-1Download
“The actions of the Newport News Emergency Medical Services employees and the Newport News Police Department employees and/or agents, include, at a minimum, negligence due to their failure to administer the appropriate and/or adequate medical care, and general negligence resulting in violating the captions decedent’s rights and contributing and/or causing to his subsequent death thereafter,” it reads.
“These claims could include allegations for gross negligence, willful indifference, and punitive damages.”
An attorney for the family said, in an email, that they have not yet filed a lawsuit, and are attempting to meet with city officials first.
10 On Your Side contacted Chief Drew after learning of the intent to sue letter which was dated prior to our exclusive interview in April. He confirmed neither he nor Rogers were aware of the letter when they sat down to discuss on the record what happened.
“But the most important thing to me is that we get justice for Mr. Williams, who can’t speak for himself and his family. So as we just as we go forward, there may be some things that we that we can’t open up and go further about because I’m very, very cautious to be very, very protective of that family,” Chief Drew told us in April.
Charges Dismissed
On June 12, a judge dismissed the charges against the man police had alleged killed Williams, Lakavious Lamont Charity. Court documents state the reason behind that was a lack of probable cause. 10 On Your Side reached out to the Newport News Commonwealth’s Attorney for further details on the recent court proceeding. We are awaiting a reply.
Continue to check WAVY.com for updates.
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