COLUMBIA COUNTY, Fla. — The EMT driving the ambulance Columbia County deputies mistakenly pulled during a pursuit of a stolen one last Saturday is speaking out about his experience.
"That was actually one of the most nerve wracking thing that I have experienced," EMT Daniel Alderman said.
Body camera video from one of the responding deputies show Alderman being held at gunpoint and you can tell from the video he was confused about why.
"Let me see your hands. Step out of the ambulance now. Let me see your hands," a Columbia County deputy shouted at Alderman.
Alderman exited the driver's seat of the ambulance with his hands up. He told deputies he had a patient in the back and a co-worker with him too. Turns out, deputies pulled over the wrong ambulance. While transporting a patient between hospitals, Alderman says deputies mistook him for someone who had stolen an ambulance earlier that night.
"Who is this?" the deputy asked. "Who is in the ambulance with you?"
"My partner and a patient," Alderman said.
"A patient?" the deputy said. "Ok, we were advised that the patient took the van."
The Columbia County Sheriff's Office says on December 9, just before midnight, while a deputy and EMS assisted a man possibly under the influence of drugs, he drove off in an ambulance. While on the search for 35-year-old Stanley Williams and the ambulance, deputies pulled Alderman's ambulance over thinking it was the stolen one, but it wasn't. Alderman says during the stop he told deputies he has autism so there wasn't any miscommunication about his actions.
"I didn't want there to be any miscommunication. Everyone with autism stims more noticeably, like messing with your hair or tapping your foot, stuff like that," Alderman said.
Deputies tell Alderman to get back into the ambulance. Sirens can be heard in the distance and dispatchers say the ambulance deputies are looking for is heading to the sheriff's office. Williams drove the ambulance to the entrance of the Operations Center where he was arrested.
"It's not every day a pursuit ends at our front door," Sheriff Mark Hunter said in a statement. "I’m glad nobody was hurt and the suspect was not able to pose a greater risk to our community."
Williams was arrested and charged with grand theft and fleeing and eluding. Alderman says despite the situation, there is no other job like being an EMT.
"I want to first congratulate the officer about how when he noticed that I was not a threat and that he had no need to have a gun out he actually did put it up," Alderman said. "My coworker actually found some humor in it after the fact."
The Sheriff's Office says the deputy's actions followed his training and were within policy.