Politics
Family of Man Who Died While Being Treated by Chicago Paramedics Should Receive $8M: City Lawyers
(gk-6mt / iStock)
Taxpayers should pay $8 million to the family of a man who died after being strapped to a stretcher by Chicago Fire Department paramedics, city lawyers recommended.
Leonardo Guerrero, 44, died at an Uptown hospital on Aug. 31, 2022, after his heart stopped in a Chicago Fire Department ambulance. The restraints applied by paramedics contributed to his death, which was also caused by high blood pressure triggered by cocaine and alcohol use, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Guerrero’s death was ruled a homicide, records show.
The Chicago City Council’s Finance Committee will consider the proposed settlement at a meeting set for Wednesday, with a final vote of the full City Council possible on Thursday.
Dakota Ibrahim, the paramedic in charge of Guerrero’s care, was fired by the department in connection with the death. Joseph Schultz, Ibrahim’s partner, was suspended after an investigation, according to the lawsuit.
Paramedics were called to a parking lot near Guerrero’s Buena Park home, where he was found lying on the ground naked, according to the lawsuit.
Paramedics directed Guerrero to walk to the ambulance and get inside, but he refused to lie on a stretcher and tried to exit the vehicle, according to the lawsuit.
Even as Guerrero struggled to breathe, paramedics strapped him to the stretcher, and a police officer handcuffed him to the gurney and accompanied him to the hospital, just three minutes away, according to the lawsuit.
Footage captured by the officer’s body-worn camera showed Ibrahim chatting with the officer while Guerrero lost consciousness, according to the lawsuit.
Before Guerrero was treated at the hospital, Ibrahim spent several minutes filling out paperwork, according to the lawsuit. It wasn’t until the police officer pointed out that Guerrero did not appear to be breathing that Ibrahim assessed his condition and began resuscitation efforts, according to the lawsuit.
Guerrero died in the hospital’s emergency room, according to the lawsuit.
Fire Department rules require paramedics to notify hospitals before ambulances arrive. Although Ibrahim wrote in his official report that he called the hospital three times but got no answer, video footage shows no evidence of Ibrahim doing so, according to the lawsuit.
Ibrahim also falsely said in his report he tried to examine Guerrero, according to the lawsuit.
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
