Police investigator suspended after handcuffing Black EMT who bumped car unloading a patient
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – A Rochester police investigator handcuffed an emergency medical technician after she bumped his vehicle at a hospital while unloading a patient from an ambulance. The investigator has been suspended with pay and the EMT is now seeking legal action.
The EMT, Lekia Smith, was also taken to the police car and questioned in the backseat before being released, according to her attorney.
The attorney, Donald Thompson, challenged claims from the police union, the Locust Club, that the EMT and the investigator came to terms after the incident at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester.
"The discussion that was had was in the back of a police car while she was handcuffed," Thompson said.
Smith is a Black woman. "If she was a petite short white woman, would this have happened to her?" Thompson said. "Absolutely not."
The altercation between the two, first reported by WHEC-TV (Channel 10), led to a paid suspension of the investigator, who was later identified as Charles LoTempio. The police department and the Police Accountability Board are both now investigating.
In Florida: Police sergeant charged with grabbing another officer by the throat, officials say
The suspension of the then-unidentified investigator was announced by city police Monday, a week after Smith was handcuffed at Strong Memorial Hospital.
On Monday, the Locust Club questioned why Police Chief David Smith changed the initial response from an administrative transfer to a suspension. The Locust Club statement said, "The incident in question reached a mutually acceptable resolution that day when both the investigator and the EMT were able to jointly discuss the reasons for their actions, and both accepted each other’s explanations."
Thompson said there was no mutually agreeable resolution between the investigator and Smith.
Behind the Blue Wall of Silence: Police who expose misconduct by fellow officers face retaliation
According to WHEC, which obtained a Strong Memorial Hospital video of the EMT being taken away by the investigator, LoTempio's car was parked in the hospital ambulance bay in front of the emergency room at the time of the incident. Smith hit his car while opening the ambulance door to unload a patient. The investigator asked for her identification, but she said she had to bring the patient inside first.
Thompson said that Smith and a partner were pushing the gurney with a patient up a slight incline and the gurney started to slide backward as Smith tried to deal with the investigator. They were able to get the gurney under control and take the patient into the hospital, where the investigator then handcuffed Smith and took her into custody.
The investigator later released Smith. In a statement Monday, she said: "I pray that this never happens to anyone again and I also pray that the justice that is needed in this situation is served swiftly."
Thompson said Smith suffered physical injuries but there is also "injury to her dignity, her professional standing."
What's everyone talking about?: Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day
Prior to the incident with Smith, LoTiempo had been the subject of prior disciplinary action for excessive force and unauthorized strip searches, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, part of the USA TODAY Network, found in a review of disciplinary records released by the City. LoTiempo was named as a defendant in five federal lawsuits alleging misconduct between 2012 and 2018.
Thompson is joined by lawyer Elliot Dolby Shields in Smith's representation. Smith and her attorneys want to see an acceptable response from the city, Thompson said. They expect to file a notice of claim, which is the precursor to a lawsuit.
"With litigation like this, it's oftentimes not the monetary part," he said. "It's what can be done to improve the situation, to make sure this does not happen again."
Follow Gary Craig on Twitter at @gcraig1.
Contributing: Sean Lahman, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle; The Associated Press.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: NY police investigator who handcuffed Black EMT suspended on full pay
