A 39-year-old Texas paramedic was taken into custody for possession of drugs on Feb. 5 and later fired as a result. The drug charges include evading arrest and two counts of possession of a controlled substance. He has been detained on a bond of $25,000.
His employer, Liberty County EMS, released a statement on the incident and reported that he was terminated, per company policy. Liberty County EMS said it does not tolerate any type of drug abuse by employees. He had started with the agency part-time in July 2013 and was hired on full-time in August. He underwent drug testing on June 27 for pre-employment screening.
A deputy reported that during his routine patrol, he observed the man’s Jeep sitting in traffic. He watched the vehicle drive erratically and weave into on-coming traffic lanes, which almost caused at least two head-on collisions. The deputy was worried about other drivers and contacted his dispatchers for help with the case since the man was in another jurisdiction. They called the local police department who stopped oncoming traffic since the deputy thought the man might be in an accident. Another officer rendered aid in a traffic stop. After he was detained for evading authorities, the police chief reportedly saw dozens of prescription pills in a baggie in the vehicle, which resulted in the additional drug charges.
In order to take or possess prescription drugs, a person needs to have a legitimate prescription from a physician. A criminal defense attorney might be able to investigate why a client had prescription medications and work with prosecutors for a possible dismissal of charges if there was a valid prescription.
Source: Dayton News, “Liberty County paramedic arrested on drug charges“, Vanesa Brashier, February 06, 2014