Hamilton police, EMTs accused of scam

Class attendance, training records reportedly falsified

Members of the Hamilton Police Department, including Chief Walter Cullen, falsified EMT training records and claimed to have taken classes that were never held, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health announced yesterday after an investigation.

The DPH suspended 12 emergency medical technicians for signing phony rosters for training courses that were never held, the agency said in a statement released yesterday. The state agency suspended the certification of the EMTs and the Emergency Medical Services training officer.

Eleven other EMTs were reprimanded for falsifying training rosters, and four were cleared of any charges.

The DPH suspended the license for the town ambulance service, which is run by the Police Department, for at least one year. The department said it has never before revoked a municipal ambulance service's license.

In the investigation, DPH's Office of Emergency Medical Services found "longstanding violations" of training and certification by the town's ambulance service, dating at least to 2000, and charged it with "endangering the public health and safety."

The scam involved EMTs allegedly signing training course attendance rosters for classes that never occurred, according to interviews with officers in the state investigation report. When a lieutenant told Cullen there were problems with the EMTs falsely representing their attendance, the chief told him not to worry about it, the report said.

Police officers received additional pay each year they took the courses.

Dick Low, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, told the Associated Press that the town was looking into the findings, including possible disciplinary action. Low said Cullen, who is scheduled to retire in February, was still in charge of the department.

Since the Public Health Department notified Hamilton of the investigation in September, a private company, Lyons Ambulance Service, has filled in for emergency services. The private company will continue emergency response services during the suspension.

The Public Health Department alleged that Hamilton employed EMS personnel who were not certified or qualified to treat patients for basic injuries, submitted false documents to the state agency so its EMTs could get recertified, and did not ensure that its training programs were properly administered and conducted.

To maintain state certification, EMTs and paramedics have to undergo a minimum of 28 hours of continuing education courses and an annual refresher course every two years, the DPH said.