A Memphis Police officer is off the job and under investigation after being accused of assaulting an emergency medical technician at a hospital, officials say.
The victim told FOX13 she was attacked while fixing a plate in the break room at the hospital. She told FOX13’s it was all over a hot dog.
The victim, whom we aren't identifying, said she is currently under medical care. The incident happened Friday, Sept. 20th. According to the victim, who is an EMT, she was getting a wheelchair for a patient from police holding. Food was cooking in the break room, and she says she asked a coworker if she could have some.
That coworker told her to help herself, but officer Ralphael Confer said "no."
The victim told FOX13 she thought Confer was joking, because he jokes around, so she laughed it off, took the wheelchair to the patient, and went back to the break room.
A second time, she asked a coworker if it was ok to have a hot dog, and as she grabbed the hot dog bun bag, she said Officer Confer yelled, "Who told her she can go to the break room and get a hot dog?"
The officer then allegedly slapped the bag out of her hand, pushed her, grabbed her arms and shoved her toward the door.
The victim said Confer yelled at her to the point their lips were touching, so she put her hands up to protect her face. That’s when, she said, Confer grabbed her shirt collar and slammed her against a cabinet door, causing her head to hit the floor.
The victim told FOX13 Confer then put his knee in her back and started to handcuff her. Another officer walked in, saw the commotion, and told her to stop resisting arrest.
It wasn't until a male supervisor walked in and saw what was going on and asked if the victim was under arrest.
The officer said no, taking the cuffs off.
The victim was taken to the trauma center to have her injuries evaluated and asking for a police report to be filed.
That police report wasn't filed.
When the victim went to Central Records to pick up the report, a police report hadn't been filed, so she filed one.
MPD told FOX13 they can’t comment on open investigations.
The Memphis Police Association said they aren’t involved at this point.
FOX13 also reached out to Regional One for a statement:
“We fully support the employee and encouraged the individual to file a police report. Which, as you know, she did. We are hopeful the Memphis Police Department is addressing this issue, but information about the complaint and how the situation is being handled within the police department will need to be obtained from them. Our break rooms are like any other employee break room at any company. The spaces are intended to provide a place where employees can have respite, and of course food is permitted. This will remain to be the case.”
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