Broward Fire Rescue lieutenant beat 65-year-old patient during call, BSO says
.png "A member of the Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue squad faces two counts of battery against a person over 65, BSO announced April 24.")
A Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue lieutenant has been arrested and charged with battery for reportedly beating a patient while on-duty, officials announced Friday afternoon.
Deputies say the incident occurred on Jan. 31, while Lt. Carlos Lewin, of Plantation, and his fire rescue colleagues were on a call in unincorporated central Broward County.
The release states that when crews arrived on the scene, they saw the 65-year-old patient sitting in a wheelchair near Northwest First Street and Northwest 31st Avenue. Problems started while the victim was being evaluated, deputies say, and Lewin “got into a verbal argument with him.”
Detectives allege that Lewin directed the two firefighters on duty with him to place the patient in their rescue vehicle, where there were no cameras.
“While the firefighters were obtaining (the patient’s) vital signs, they told investigators Lt. Lewin grabbed the patient’s head and forcefully struck it against the stretcher for about 30 seconds,” deputies wrote in the release. “Additionally, the firefighters said, Lt. Lewin used his fingers to press into MacPhee’s eyes and struck his head against the stretcher again.”
After Lewin’s colleagues reported the incident, an investigation began, and he was placed on administrative leave with pay. On April 23, Lewin was arrested on two counts of battery against a person over the age of 65, a third-degree felony, records show.
He is now suspended without pay after spending 10 years at the agency, according to BSO.
Another Broward Fire Rescue lieutenant, Joel Kohnert, was arrested March 31 alongside his wife in Coral Springs on accusations the couple secluded and abused their adopted 12-year-old daughter for multiple years.
Lewin’s arrest comes just over a week after Broward officials approved a study that will examine whether the county should claw back the fire rescue operation, which was absorbed by BSO in 2003, WLRN reported.
