On 24 Aug 2023, Culture War <nowomr@protonmail.com> posted some
news:uc7re1$3gou0$8@dont-email.me:

> The EMT should be carrying a .357 and unafraid of using it.

The mother of a New York City EMT who was stabbed in the back of an
ambulance told Fox News Digital that her family fears the accused attacker
will "be released and face minimal consequences" amidst New York state's
bail reform and sentencing guidelines that "protect the criminal."

Julia Fatum, a 25-year-old from Boiceville, New York, was attending to 48-
year-old felon Rudy Garcia in the back of an ambulance headed for Mount
Sinai West in midtown Manhattan on the evening of July 19.

Prosecutors wrote in an indictment unsealed this week that Garcia pulled a
knife out of his boot when Fatum "asked [him] to stop" after he threw a
gum wrapper at her.

In response, Garcia allegedly stabbed her six times � once in her left
forearm, once on the left side of her chest and four times to her left
thigh.

MAN REPEATEDLY STABBED EMT IN NYC AMBULANCE AFTER SHE TOLD HIM TO STOP
THROWING GUM WRAPPER: INDICTMENT

On Monday, Garcia pleaded not guilty to second-degree attempted murder,
first degree assault and second degree assault charges, according to a
press release from the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Garcia is being held at Rikers Island in lieu of $500,000 bail. His prior
convictions, per prosecutors, include two felonies for assaulting police
officers, three previous misdemeanor charges and at least two failures to
appear in court.

Most recently, he was arrested at a Brooklyn subway station on June 10 for
fare evasion after sneaking onto the platform using the emergency exit
door, the New York Police Department said. He was also charged with
criminal possession of a weapon for a knife in his pocket.

NYC EMT REPEATEDLY STABBED BY 'EMOTIONALLY DISTURBED' PATIENT IN BACK OF
AMBULANCE: 'HE SKEWERED HER'

It is unclear whether he has answered to this charge in court, or whether
he was on the street awaiting trial due to New York State's bail reform
laws that allow nonviolent criminals to await their court dates outside
jail without posting bail. Fox News Digital could not reach the King's
County District Attorney's office for comment at press time.

A lawyer for Garcia could not immediately be reached for comment.

The injured EMT's mother, Cara Fatum-Grant, told Fox News Digital on
Wednesday that Fatum is "determined to make it back to life before the
attack" despite her debilitating injuries and post-traumatic stress she
sustained.

"Julia has not and will not be able to return to work any time soon,"
Fatum-Grant said. "She still does not have function in her left hand and
arm and has quite some trouble walking."

NYC EMT STABBED REPEATEDLY BY FELON HAD 'SIGNIFICANT' BLOOD LOSS, NEEDS
SURGERY FOR NERVE DAMAGE: DA

Although she is "strong and determined," she has "a long road ahead of her
physically and mentally," and "her recovery has been slow," said Fatum-
Grant.

The mother � who has been vocal about her disdain for the state's bail
reform policies and asked policymakers "how [their] bail reform is
working" in a Facebook post after the attack on her daughter � said she
fears Garcia will be "released and face minimal consequences for what he's
done."

"We expected him to plead not guilty, and we expect they will ask for some
kind of plea bargain � we are worried that our daughter's struggle with be
for nothing," she told Fox News Digital. "People are literally getting
away with murder in this state and change needs to be made."

Fatum-Grant said she never thought highly of New York State's bail reform
legislation, which went into effect at the start of 2020 � but after July
19, the "attack on [her] daughter only made [her] more angry."

"I feel like New York is failing its citizens," she said. "We've become a
'protect the criminal' type of state."

"Knowing how dangerous this man is and how many times he was caught and
released really scares me," the mother continued.

Fatum-Grant, her husband and their 16-year-old son live three hours away
from the city in Boiceville in Ulster County, and have taken time off from
work to travel back and forth regularly to assist their daughter in her
New York City apartment so that she can stay with her current surgical and
physical therapy teams.

"Julia is a small town girl who took off to the city to explore the world
and meet new people," she said of her daughter. "She wanted the excitement
and has always wanted to be in the medical field helping people."

Since Fatum was attacked, a GoFundMe initiative organized by the EMT's
coworker has amassed nearly $45,000.

Despite her horrific encounter, Fatum intends to stay in New York City to
finish her education, and is applying to area master's programs to become
a physician assistant.

"She hasn't decided if she will be continuing as an EMT but it wouldn't
surprise me if she did," her mother told Fox News Digital. "She isn't one
to quit anything."

https://news.yahoo.com/mom-emt-attacked-ambulance-rips-113017434.html