Christopher Wimmer, 35, was sentenced to six months in jail and three years probation for taking selfies of patients in his ambulance
A Florida paramedic has been jailed for six months after taking pictures of incapacitated patients for his own amusement.
Christopher Wimmer, 35, of Crestview, was charged in July 2016 in what prosecutors described as a ‘sick, sick game.’
Wimmer admitted that he competed with a fellow paramedic Kayla Renee Dubois, 24, to take the most disgusting selfie picture with patients who were totally powerless to stop it happening.
‘I think it was a sick, juvenile game,’ Okaloosa Sheriff Larry Ashley said the time. ‘I don’t know any other way to describe it. Who can be the most gross? Who can be the most vile? Who can I get a picture with? It’s humiliation.’
Dubois was sentenced to two years of probation last month but Wimmer started his jail sentence this weekend.
He will also have three years of probation and have to perform 100 hours of community service and pay court fees.
Okaloosa County Circuit Judge William Stone barred Wimmer, 35, from working as a paramedic while completing his sentence, the News Herald reported.
‘When I see ambulances drive by every single time in Boston, it reminds me of the mistakes that I’ve made and how it affected everyone else that was involved,’ Wimmer said to the judge.
‘To all the patients and their families, I want you to know how sorry I am for the things that I did and the crimes I committed.’
Kayla Renee Dubois (left) and Christopher Wimmer (right) were engaged in a ‘selfie war’ where they took pictures with incapacitated patients for their own amusement, authorities said
Assistant State Attorney Clifton Drake said that none of the victims was willing to speak in court because they were humiliated from the ordeal.
‘I read these letters (from the victims) and the nightmares the victims are having,’ Drake said. ‘When these victims see an ambulance, they panic and they question whether they should even call 911. When you call 911 you … trust that the people that are sent will not take advantage of you.’
Wimmer pleaded no contest to seven felony counts of interception and disclosure of oral communications and one misdemeanor count of battery.
The pair took a total of 41 photos of incapacitated patients including one where Wimmer held open the eyelid of a sedated patient.
He also posed with an elderly women with her breast exposed.
Wimmer (pictured) apologized for his actions in court. ‘To all the patients and their families, I want you to know how sorry I am for the things that I did and the crimes I committed.’
The selfies were often taken inside ambulances with many of them either intubated, sedated or unconscious at the time. Some of the patients died shortly afterwards.
The patients ranged in age from 24 to 86 and included 19 women and 17 men.
The sheriff’s office began investigating after complaints from three other emergency workers about pictures and videos taken as part of a ‘competition’.
Dubois was fired a week later on May 20, and Wimmer resigned the same day.
The investigation found that the pictures and videos were sent to other EMS personnel and friends – but only a ‘very small’ number of emergency workers received them.
The pair would exchange texts challenging each other to take more selfies and ‘step up their game,’ authorities said.