OKALOOSA COUNTY, Fla. (WPMI) — The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office Thursday announced the arrest of two former Okaloosa County EMS paramedics, accused of having a "selfie war" with unconscious patients.
Twenty-four-year-old Kayla Dubois and 33-year-old Christopher Wimmer are facing charges. Officials say the two used their cellphones to take selfies and videos with patients inside ambulances as part of a competition, telling each other to produce more images and "step up" their game.'The images include selfies with an elderly woman with her breast exposed, and Wimmer holding the eyelid of a sedated patient.
Many of the patients were intubated, sedated, or otherwise unconscious at the time, according to a release.
Dubois is charged with two counts of interception and disclosure of oral communications, a third degree felony. She was fired May 20.
Wimmer resigned from his position May 20, and told authorities he'd turn himself in Thursday, July 21. The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office posted to Facebook at 3 p.m. that Wimmer was in custody.
Wimmer is charged with seven counts of interception and disclosure of oral communications, and a misdemeanor battery charge stemming from the photo of him holding the eyelid of a sedated patient.
Forty-one patients have been identified. Two have since died and three more appear consensual. Of the remaining 36 patients, 19 are female and 17 are male. They range in age from 24 to 86. Five are homeless.
This is a criminal investigation.