Jackson police investigating complaint against city employee

Jackson police are investigating an alleged incident Sunday in which a woman was reportedly assaulted by a Jackson Fire Rescue employee while responding to the woman's request for medical assistance.

"We did receive a report, but it's still under investigation," said Lt. Alex Broch, Jackson Police Department's public information officer. He said it could take several days, and possibly a week, to investigate the facts surrounding the alleged incident.

"We have to get medical records and talk to all the parties involved," he said.

The woman, 47-year-old Tabitha Grossman, told the Southeast Missourian she called 911 at about 2:40 p.m. Sunday after experiencing what she described as "heart palpitations."

Within minutes, a three-man emergency response team from Jackson Fire Rescue was dispatched to Grossman's home on Bainbridge Road in Jackson.

"I went out on my front porch to wait for them," Grossman said. "And my husband went out there with me."

Upon their arrival, Grossman said one of the emergency technicians performed an electrocardiogram (ECG) on her to detect any heart irregularities. She said the technician told her the result was normal and discarded the ECG printout.

"I reached down and grabbed the ECG (printout) and when I turned away from him he attacked me and slammed me on the ground for grabbing it," she said. "He pushed me so hard I ended up against the brick on the front of my house."

Although Grossman said he immediately apologized, she said she told him and the other emergency responders to leave her property. Her husband then drove her to a Cape Girardeau hospital where she said she was treated for "bruises all over my body and a big abrasion on my elbow."

Grossman and her husband provided statements to the Jackson Police Department on Sunday night, but she said she did not file a formal complaint until Monday afternoon. "I waited 24 hours because honestly I was scared," she said. "I'm scared of the police in Jackson, I'm scared of the firefighters."

The Missourian obtained a copy of Grossman's complaint Tuesday afternoon, and although it lists the name of the employee who was allegedly involved in the incident, the Missourian is not publishing it because no charges have been filed at this point. A copy of the initial investigation report was also included with Grossman's complaint. The report included a statement from the employee who denied pushing Grossman and said she "either slipped or tripped on her feet or (his) feet landing on her butt."

"The City of Jackson has nothing to hide," Tom Ludwig, Jackson's city attorney, told the Missourian. "We are investigating this the same way we would anything."

Ludwig said once completed, the investigation report will be forwarded to Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Welker for his review.

"He will do a fair and independent evaluation of whether he thinks anything is there," Ludwig said. "And if he does, he'll act accordingly, and if he doesn't, then there won't be anything to come out of this."

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