The Ledger, Lakeland, Fla.
Polk County s 2020 Paramedic of the Year has been arrested and charged with stealing COVID-19 vaccines meant for first responders.
Joshua Colon, 31, was arrested Monday by the Polk County Sheriff s Office after confessing to intentionally stealing three doses of Moderna vaccine then forging paperwork in attempt to cover his actions, according to the Sheriff s Office. We have a responsibility to uphold the community s trust. We found in one of these opportunities we didn t do that, Robert Weech, chief of Polk County Fire Rescue said. We are deeply disappointed.
According to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, Colon said he stole the vaccines earlier this month at the request of his supervisor, Capt. Tony Damiano, who sought the vaccine for his elderly mother.
Officials say a Florida man who had been recently named "Paramedic of the Year" helped a supervisor steal COVID-19 vaccines meant for first responders.
A Florida man who had been recently named “Paramedic of the Year” helped a supervisor steal COVID-19 vaccines meant for first responders, sheriff's officials said.
Deputies interviewed Colon at his lawyer’s office, Judd said, where Colon admitted to falsifying the paperwork. He said Damiano had asked him to procure doses of the vaccine for Damiano’s mother. According to the arrest report, Colon initially refused, but Damiano threatened to tell Colon’s supervisors that he was stealing and selling vaccines, which frightened the paramedic.
The next day, Judd said, Damiano ordered Colon to go on a lunch break, and Colon left the vaccines in a refrigerator. When he returned, according to the arrest report, he noticed that three doses were missing but did not report the issue.