State suspends license of former Dallas fire paramedic seen kicking homeless man

The state suspended the license of a Dallas paramedic after he was repeatedly filmed beating an unarmed homeless man on the ground, online records show.

Texas Health and Human Services placed Brad Cox’s license on emergency suspension earlier this month, although online records show no reason.

The department may issue an emergency suspension of a person’s paramedic’s or paramedic’s license if there are “reasonable grounds to believe that the conduct of a certified or licensed person creates a problem. imminent danger to public health or safety, “according to the state. administrative code.

Online records show both November 3 and 5 as the date of suspension.

The morning news from Dallas and other local media outlets this year posted body camera videos from the police and a nearby business showing Cox, who is also a mixed martial arts fighter, repeatedly kicking and punching Kyle Vess. Dallas-Fire Rescue fired Cox after the videos were posted.

Dallas Police said Vess, a 32-year-old man with a mental illness similar to schizophrenia, was set on fire on August 2, 2019.

Cox told police Vess hit him as he was putting out one of the fires. Vess was arrested on suspicion of assaulting an official.

The police department’s public integrity unit determined that Cox acted in self-defense. Police chief Eddie García said on Thursday that a review of the case was still ongoing.

Vess was jailed and sent to a mental health facility to have his skills restored so he could stand trial. He was released under house arrest last year. The Dallas County District Attorney’s Office closed the case in October, after several reports of the incident.

Vess’ family filed a lawsuit against Cox and the town this year. They said the beating from the paramedic exacerbated Vess’ mental health issues, according to the lawsuit. He was left with a fractured eye socket, cracked teeth, a fractured sinus and the right side of his face is partially paralyzed, according to the lawsuit.

Cox’s attorneys could not be reached for comment Thursday and declined to comment while the trial is ongoing. In his written response to the trial, Cox said he was forced to defend himself against Vess’ aggressive behavior. Cox said he believed his actions were appropriate and had not broken the law, his lawyers wrote in court documents.

The fire department fired Cox on October 29. Fire chief Dominique Artis declined to answer questions about Cox, service protocols for handling scenes before police arrive and use-of-force training for paramedics. Spokesman Jason Evans said the department would not comment while the trial is ongoing.

Cox had been on leave from the fire department since September, after The news started asking questions about the incident and the Dallas Observer first posted police body camera video.