HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015 08-26 Five Maplewood fire department employees on leave, investigation continues MAPLEWOOD REVIEW2/17/2016 Five Maplewood fire department employees on leave, investigation continues I Lillie Suburban Newspapers - LillieNews.com
Five Maplewood fire department employees
on leave, investigation continues
Submitted by adminl on Wed, 08/26/2015 - 7:57am
By: Erin Hinrichs
In response to a complaint filed with the city, Maplewood Fire Chief Steve Lukin and Assistant Fire Chief Clarence "Butch" Gervais,
along with four of their colleagues at the Maplewood Fire Department, were placed on administrative hold on Monday, Aug. 17.
While a request for specifics of the complaint that triggered the city's investigation was denied by City Manager Melinda Coleman,
she emailed the Review a copy of the referenced police report.
Officer Pheng Her had responded to a call at the Good Samaritan Society on Aug. 7 around 3:30 p.m. to assist in resuscitation
efforts on 71 -year-old Linda Sandhei, who had been living with late -stage Parkinson's disease for the past 21 years.
Her son, Peder Sandhei, 38, had gone to visit her that same day. She had opened her eyes to look at him, then closed them again
and soon after vomited in her sleep. Peder rang the emergency call button and went to get help.
Nursing home staff began performing CPR until Maplewood Medics arrived. At 4:10 p.m., they felt her pulse and moved her to a
stretcher for transport to the hospital.
At this point, Linda's husband Thomas Sandhei asked that the medics stop lifesaving interventions on his wife of 50 years. The
medics complied with his verbal request and 20 minutes later she was pronounced dead.
According to the death investigation report, filed by the Maplewood Police Department, medics deviated from protocol by not
consulting a written health-care directive.
According to media reports, Thomas and Peder Sandhei were grateful the medics honored their request — a decision they had
already discussed with Linda, who had made it clear she didn't want to live in a vegetative state.
The family's wishes aside, Maplewood Police Chief Paul Schnell says a formal investigation into the matter was deemed necessary
because Linda's health-care directive was not physically present at the scene.
"The involvement of law enforcement is looking into whether or not there's a violation of state law that could result in criminal
charges," he explained.
Upon consulting with Ramsey County Attorney Richard Dusterhoft, Schnell reported the case did not warrant a broader criminal
investigation because the medics acted in good faith and did not break any criminal laws.
Thomas Sandhei was reached by phone, but declined to comment.
Meanwhile, the city is continuing its investigation of the case, spurred by a complaint filed with the city.
"We're handling it as an HR [human resources] issue," Coleman told the Review on Aug. 17. "The fewer people who know about it
the better, to protect our employees' rights."
Under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, the city is allowed to withhold certain records.
In addition to Lukin and Gervais, firefighter and paramedic Richard Dawson, firefighter and paramedic Mike Streff, part-time
firefighter and EMT Joseph Kerska, and part-time firefighter and EMT Reid Troxel were placed on leave.
As of April, the city employs 18 full-time firefighters, 40 part-time firefighters and EMTs, and three full-time administrative staff. They
work out of three stations.
The current investigation comes at a time when the North St. Paul Fire Department is working to secure a Joint Powers Agreement
with Maplewood for the new East Metro Fire Training Center.
Coleman anticipates the city's investigation will be complete early this week.
Erin Hinrichs can be reached at 651-748-7814 and ehinrichs@lillienews.com. Follow her at twitter.com/EHinrichsNews.
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