Paramedics convicted in death of Yosif Al-Hasnawi to be sentenced today
Two former Hamilton paramedics convicted of failing to provide the necessaries of life to Yosif Al-Hasnawi are expected to be sentenced today.
Steven Snively and Christopher Marchant were convicted in June of failing to provide the necessaries of life for their actions on Dec. 2, 2017, after the 19-year-old was shot on Sanford Avenue South.
The case is unprecedented. It is the first time paramedics have been charged and convicted of such a crime for on-duty work.
During the sentencing hearing in October, the prosecution asked for a two-and-a-half year penitentiary sentence. Crown attorney Linda Shin argued that Snively and Marchant caused Al-Hasnawi's death and that manslaughter, despite the fact that they were never charged with that crime, should be considered in sentencing.
The defence argued that was fundamentally unfair" since the mistakes the paramedics made that night were not intentionally to endanger the 19-year-old. Lawyers for Marchant and Snively requested a conditional sentence of six to nine months, which would spare them any jail time, plus probation and 100 hours of community service.
In convicting the pair, Superior Court Justice Harrison Arrell found they falsely believed Al-Hasnawi had been shot with a BB gun based on rumour and innuendo" from bystanders and police at the scene. They did not leave the scene for 23 minutes, ignored policy on how to treat penetrating wounds and performed unsafe lifts to get Al-Hasnawi onto the stretcher.
When they finally left the scene, Al-Hasnawi was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital, which has a psychiatric emergency department, instead of Hamilton General Hospital, the lead trauma centre. He was without vital signs by the time he arrived.
Medical experts testified that he could have had a 50 per cent chance of survival had he been quickly taken to a lead trauma hospital before his heart rate plummeted.
Al-Hasnawi was shot by Dale King after a confrontation that began on Main Street East when the 19-year-old called out for King and his friend to stop harassing an older man shuffling down the street. The shooting became known as the Good Samaritan" case.
In 2019, King was found not guilty of second-degree murder after arguing self-defence. He said he shot Al-Hasnawi because the 19-year-old was chasing him and his friend, James Matheson, who he thought was in danger. The Crown is appealing that verdict.
Nicole O'Reilly is a crime and justice reporter at The Spectator. noreilly@thespec.com