Newly Released Video Shows Paramedic Flipping Cancer Patient Off Stretcher

Security camera footage showing a paramedic throwing a cancer patient to the ground has been released by the Florida State Attorney's Office.

Kenneth Hallenbeck, 35, a Brevard County firefighter and paramedic, was transporting James Slater, 49, at Wuesthoff Medical Center in Rockledge, Florida. The video, taken in February and released last week, captures the moment Hallenbeck overturned the stretcher his patient was on.

Slater told local station WFTV he refused to get off the stretcher after finding out the hospital didn't have a bed for him, and that's when Hallenbeck lost his temper.

"He started screaming and then grabbed the gurney and picked it up and threw me on the floor," Slater said.

Kenneth Hallenbeck was filmed overturning a gurney with patient James Slater in it.

Hallenbeck was fired after the incident and was charged with felony abuse of the elderly or disabled. But those charges were reduced to a misdemeanor last week. Prosecutors struck a deal -- which includes Hallenbeck surrendering his paramedic license -- to secure a speedy resolution to the case, in light of Slater's serious illness.

"Based on the victim's medical condition, which is confidential, it is unclear if he meets the criteria of a 'disabled adult' necessary to support a felony charge," Assistant State Attorney Gary Beatty told Florida Today. "Because of this uncertainty, litigation of this matter would likely have prolonged disposition of the case beyond the victim's life expectancy and subjected him to stress that could have aggravated his condition."

The Florida State Attorney's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Huffington Post.

Hallenbeck will enter a plea and be sentenced when he appears in court on June 22.

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