Ambulance assault victim describes paramedic attack

DENVER - The man beaten up by a Denver Health Medical Center paramedic on the way to the hospital tells the 9Wants to Know investigators he still suffers from pain and is considering a lawsuit against Denver Health and the paramedic.

"I'm still seeing a doctor. He's got me on three different kinds of medication for headaches," Tim Smith told 9NEWS.

Smith suffered a seizure at his west Denver home on Jan. 3 and his wife called paramedics. On the way to the hospital, police say paramedic Alan Miller beat Smith so hard that Smith suffered broken bones. A judge sentenced Miller to 12 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections on Nov. 12, following his conviction last month for second-degree assault.

Smith says his nose, eye socket and skull were broken. He doesn't remember the incident, but his wife says when he was loaded into the ambulance he only had a bump on his head from falling on a table during the seizure.

"When he left he was breathing on his own. He was trying to get off the gurney," said Suzanne Lawrence, Smith's wife. "I know he didn't want to go to the hospital."

"When I got to the hospital it was a little shocking to see everything else. His eye was swollen up so badly that it was over his eyebrow. There was blood all over his face," Lawrence told 9Wants to Know.

She took pictures of Smith in the hospital which show his left eye purple and swollen. A tube is in Smith's mouth. Several tubes are attached elsewhere on his face.

Lawrence says her husband stayed on life support for five days.

"His mom was told, 'Come say goodbye to your son because they didn't think he was going to live,'" Lawrence said.

Eventually, she says hospital staff told her what happened to Smith. The details are included in Miller's arrest affidavit.

Miller and paramedic Shaunna King responded to Smith's house when his wife called for help. King drove while Miller sat in back with Smith.

Police say King told officers she "heard what sounded like punches" coming from the back of the ambulance during their drive to the hospital.

She says Miller told her he couldn't control Smith and asked her to pull over at West 6th Avenue and Federal Boulevard and call police.

King says when she stopped she watched Miller punch Smith in the stomach, face and head.

The arrest affidavit says King told police that after the incident Smith was extremely bloody. King also said Smith was "gurgling on his own blood."

Miller claimed Smith was injured by a police officer who responded to his call for help.

An Internal Affairs investigation by Denver Police cleared the officer of any wrongdoing.

After a jury convicted Miller of assault, Miller told the court during his sentencing he was sorry for harming Smith.

Miller's attorney says his client accidently hurt Smith as he tried to stop him from opening the ambulance door while it was moving.

"It's an unfortunate situation. It was our contention that Mr. Miller didn't intend to cause serious bodily injury to Mr. Smith. However, had Mr. Miller not called the police department and not made a false accusation against the police officer he probably would not have received such a lengthy sentence," said Donald Brenner, Miller's attorney.

Smith says the sentence Miller received is not enough.

"Prison doesn't mean that much. It's a way of wasting time. Equal punishment would be that I could do that to him," Smith said.

Denver Health says it cannot discuss specifics because of a possible lawsuit against the hospital, but a hospital spokesperson says staff acted properly when King reported the abuse she witnessed.

"The system we have in place worked, because immediately when Miller's partner reported what happened our processes went into place. [Miller] never went on another call," Denver Health Public Relations Director Dee Martinez said.

Denver Health did not require Smith to pay for the 10 days his wife says he spent in the hospital.

If you have more information on this story or a tip for investigative reporter Jace Larson, call him at 303-871-1432 or e-mail him at jace.larson@9news.com.