STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The two EMTs who were suspended without pay in the aftermath of Eric Garner's death in police custody are still prohibited by the FDNY from working in the 911 system, but have been temporarily reassigned at Richmond University Medical Center on a non-clinical basis, according to a hospital spokeswoman.
The reinstatement process for the EMT personnel is still ongoing, FDNY press said.
The two paramedics from RUMC involved in the incident, who were also suspended without pay and placed on operational restriction, have been cleared by the FDNY and are back working on the 911 system, the spokeswoman said.
The four emergency response workers were barred by the FDNY from responding to 911 calls after a video surfaced showing they did little to aid Garner after he was placed in a police chokehold July 17 in Tompkinsville.
One EMT, identified as Nicole Palmeri by the New York Post, was seen in the video taking Garner's pulse but doing little else for two minutes before Garner, 43, was hoisted on a stretcher and taken to RUMC, where he was pronounced dead.
Israel Miranda, president of Local 27 of the Uniformed EMT and Paramedics, said a few days following the incident that responding emergency personnel should have provided Garner with supplemental oxygen, even if he had a pulse. Miranda's union represents FDNY EMS personnel, but not RUMC EMTs.
Miranda made particular note of Garner's words to cops, captured on video, "I can't breathe! I can't breathe!"
Said Miranda, "Knowing that he's saying he's having trouble breathing, at this point, you're going to be giving him oxygen."
One veteran EMS source questioned why the responding EMTs didn't bring any equipment when they arrived on the scene.
The emergency workers were not named as defendants in the notice of claim filed by Garner's family intending to sue the city, NYPD and eight police officers for $75 million.
--Staff reporter John Annese contributed to this report.