No Discipline for D.C. Lieutenant in Toddler’s Death

WASHINGTON - Six months after a D.C. fire lieutenant was charged with neglect of duty in a delayed response to a choking toddler who later died, FOX 5 has learned he has not been disciplined and has chosen to retire. This new development has deeply angered the baby's father. Two sources familiar with the process say Lt. Guy Valentine put in his retirement papers around the holidays. Despite facing three different charges in connection with the delayed response to the choking toddler, he has not gone before an internal trial board and no date has been set for one. A D.C. Fire and EMS spokesperson has confirmed Valentine filed his retirement papers in December and it appears he will be able to leave the department without facing any discipline. On March 18 in a house on Warren Street in Northwest D.C., 18-month-old Martin Cuesta began choking on some grapes being fed to him by his nanny. Calls were placed to 911, but it took nearly eleven minutes for help to arrive, in part, because investigators say a lieutenant assigned to the Tenleytown station three blocks from the house heard the call go out, but failed to respond. According to a report, the lieutenant told investigators he didn't respond because dispatchers did not put his engine on the call and he was unaware the house was three blocks away. On Monday, more than ten months after losing his son, Jose Cuesta sat in his lawyer’s office knowing little more than he did when charges were first filed against the lieuten...
Source: JEMS Administration and Leadership - Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Legal & Ethical News Administration and Leadership Communications Dispatch General News Source Type: news