A pair of paramedics have been arrested after taking pictures of incapacitated patients in a ‘sick’ selfie war.
Both Christopher Wimmer, 33, and Kayla Renee Dubois, 24, were taken into police custody on Thursday and are now facing felony charges for their behaviour.
Dubois was arrested on Thursday morning and charged with two counts of interception and disclosure of oral communications, the Daily Mail reports.
Meanwhile an arrest warrant was issued for Wimmer on seven counts of the same charge as Dubois, and a misdemeanour battery charge for purposely holding open the eyelid of an unconscious patient.
Wimmer eventually handed himself in to Okaloosa County Jail on Thursday afternoon.
The Okaloosa County Jail Sheriff Larry Ashley said:
It was a sick, juvenile game. I don’t know any other way to describe it. Who can be the most gross? Who can be the most vile? Who can I get a picture with? It’s humiliation.
The pair came to the attention of police when three other emergency workers complained about the pictures and videos.
The patients in the photos range in age from 24 to 86 and include 19 women and 17 men.
Wimmer resigned from his post on May 20 while Dubois was fired the same day.
An investigation into the pair discovered that they were sending pictures and videos to other emergency service staff but only a ‘very small’ number of people actually received them.
The 41 patients in the selfies were often intubated, sedated or unconscious when the photos were taken, although the sheriff’s office did report that three of the pics were consensual.
More of a concept than a journalist, Tom Percival was forged in the bowels of Salford University from which he emerged grasping a Masters in journalism.
Since then his rise has been described by himself as ‘meteoric’ rising to the esteemed rank of Social Editor at UNILAD as well as working at the BBC, Manchester Evening News, and ITV.
He credits his success to three core techniques, name repetition, personality mirroring, and never breaking off a handshake.