Police in Vancouver say a man has been arrested after allegedly assaulting a paramedic who was tending to a patient in the city’s downtown. The incident occurred just before 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, when investigators say the paramedic was with a patient near West Hastings and Abbott streets. A man approached the medic and asked for some water before striking him on the head and fleeing the area, the Vancouver Police Department said in a news release Thursday. Police say the paramedic sustained minor injuries. A suspect was located a block away and arrested. “Assault charges are being recommended against the 27-year-old man,” police said. B.C. Emergency Health Services did not immediately respond to a request for more information about the incident. This story will be updated if and when a response is received. Last year, the Ambulance Paramedics of B.C. union launched a violence-prevention campaign calling attention to what it described as rising incidents of assaults against paramedics across the province.
