A Cobb County pediatrician answered the phone at his office Tuesday but declined to discuss his recent arrest for allegedly assaulting a paramedic.
“I would like to ask for respect and privacy for my patients,” Dr. Melvin Gerald Perry told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Last week, Perry called 911 when a baby in his care needed hospital treatment, according to police. But when he and a paramedic argued over caring for the child, Perry punched and swung an oxygen tank, police said.
“Said accused did lunge at said victim and tackle her to the ground,” Perry’s arrest warrant states. “Said accused struck said victim with closed fist punches, causing a laceration to said victim’s left ear canal. During the course of the assault, said accused retrieved a metal oxygen tank and swung it repeatedly during the altercation, striking the wall of the pediatrician’s office and hindering the EMTs and said victim from removing the infant and giving treatment.”
Firefighters were able to stop the assault Thursday evening before officers arrived, the warrant states. Perry was arrested at his office, located just off the East-West Connector on Marathon Circle near Austell. He was charged with willful interference with emergency medical personnel, a felony, and misdemeanor battery, the warrant states.
The paramedic, whose name was not released, sustained minor injuries, according to Puckett EMS.
”Violence against EMS professionals is inexcusable and is unfortunately a nationwide problem for EMS field crews,” Puckett EMS said in a statement to Channel 2 Action News.
Perry, who lives in Mableton, spent a night in the Cobb jail before being released on $5,000 bond, booking records show.
According to the website for his practice, Perry is the sole doctor at Total Care Pediatrics. He was originally licensed to practice medicine in Louisiana and then completed a fellowship at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, his online biography states. Perry has no prior disciplinary records, according to the Georgia Composite Medical Board.
Perry declined to say Tuesday if he has retained an attorney.
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