Crime & Safety
Man Dies at 88th Precinct After 4-Hour Wait for Ambulance
Angel Cordero, 39, was arrested Thursday after allegedly attacking his girlfriend with a knife on Myrtle Avenue near Carlton Avenue.
A man who became sick while detained at Fort Greene's 88th Precinct over the holiday weekend died after waiting four hours for an ambulance, the Daily News reported.
Angel Cordero, 39, was arrested Thursday at approximately 4 a.m. after allegedly attacking his girlfriend with a knife on Myrtle Avenue near Carlton Avenue.
Cordero was brought to Woodhull Hospital to be looked at for unknown reasons, and then was brought to the 88th Precinct station house, cops told The News. After refusing to give his name to police, Cordero was held overnight.
Then, around 1 a.m. on Friday, Cordero began vomiting, and police in the 88th Precinct called for an ambulance. According to 911 records obtained by The News, the ambulance request was noted at 1:38 a.m., but the EMS operator did not have a unit available and the call was held.
At 2 a.m. police contacted EMS again, asking "ETA for EMS plz." Forty-seven seconds later, EMS responded, "1st available," The News wrote.
"Cordero’s call wasn’t coded as urgent, so the operator wasn’t able to assign a paramedic team, sources said," The News wrote. "Those units are reserved for the highest priorities, such as heart attacks or life-threatening injuries."
Two hours after the original call, police asked again if EMS had come for Cordero.
“EMS did not remove as of yet,” the 911 operator responded.
Minutes later, Cordero's condition worsened and be began to have seizures, The News reported.
Police alerted EMS that Cordero’s case was now a medical emergency.
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"'88 base (states) still waiting .. prisoner with seizures. ETA?' came another message," The News wrote.
Records show two EMTs were sent to the 88th Precinct at 5:18 a.m., and an EMS officer also authorized the deployment of a paramedic team a few minutes later.
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Units were on the scene by 5:27 a.m., but it was too late, as police confirmed to The News that Cordero died just before 5:30 a.m. He was still in the precinct's holding area at the time of his death.
Records show Cordero’s case was entered as an 83-D for deceased at 6:16 a.m., The News reported.
The medical examiner has yet to give an official cause of death for Cordero.
An autopsy held last week was inconclusive, and further testing was required, The News reported.
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