OKEECHOBEE — Two female emergency medical service personnel were reportedly battered on Dec. 10 while attempting to administer aid to a man in an ambulance. Deputy William Jolly responded to a call in the 2200 block of Northwest Ninth Avenue in reference to a man lying in the middle of the road. When Deputy Jolly arrived, he recognized the man as 60-year-old Terry Fisher, Northwest Seventh Avenue. Fisher was reportedly lying in the middle of the road, staring up at the sky. When Deputy Jolly asked Fisher if he was OK, Fisher did not respond, but there were no visible injuries and he was breathing normally.

Terry Fisher

When EMS arrived on the scene, Fisher reportedly sat up and began yelling and then lay back down in the street. Once he was loaded into the ambulance, Deputy Jolly stood by outside until the ambulance cleared the scene, but after a few minutes, the back door of the ambulance flew open and one of the paramedics yelled for help. Deputy Jolly found Fisher lying on the floor of the ambulance, and the two women told Deputy Jolly that Fisher swung and hit both of them as they were attempting to put an IV in his arm. At that time, they both decided not to press charges and said they did not think Fisher meant to hurt them, but on Dec. 13, both women changed their minds and decided to press charges after all.

Fisher was charged with two counts of battery on an emergency medical provider, and his bond was set at $10,000.