Lawsuit accuses EMS chief of instigating 1996 fight

By Randy Hanson

The city of Hudson has been dropped as a defendant in a lawsuit arising out of a 1996 fistfight between two emergency medical technicians.

Bart Germain, the former EMT who filed the lawsuit, agreed to dismiss his claim against the city in a deal approved last month by St. Croix County Circuit Judge Scott Needham.

Germain, 35, is still pursuing a civil claim against Glen Hartman, 38, the EMT he fought with while an accident victim was being loaded onto a helicopter in the parking lot of St. Patrick's Catholic Church for transport to a Twin Cities hospital.

Hartman has since been promoted to chief of the city-run St. Croix Emergency Medical Services. He also is a city police officer.

The agreement signed by attorneys for Germain, Hartman and the city says it doesn't affect Hartman's right to pursue a cross claim against the city, meaning the city could still be ordered to pay for damages and costs in connection with the case.

The cross claim filed by Hartman's attorney, Barry Lundeen, says that despite repeated demands the city has refused to provide Hartman with an attorney or pay his legal fees. Hartman is entitled to be defended by the city, Lundeen said, because he was acting in an official capacity for the city when the incident occurred.

The cross claim also asks Judge Needham to require the city to cover any damages or costs Hartman might be ordered to pay.

In his order removing the city as a direct defendant in the case, Needham instructed Germain's and Hartman's attorneys to enter into settlement negotiations before Dec. 10. A March 27-28 trial is scheduled in the event that Lundeen and Harry Hertel of Eau Claire, Germain's attorney, can't strike a deal.

Lundeen said Monday that he has been in contact with Hertel and that a negotiated settlement of the case is possible. Hertel didn't return calls asking for his comment on the case.

The fight

The disagreement between Hartman and Germain on the night of Oct. 17, 1996, began at the scene of a serious traffic accident on the off-ramp of eastbound Interstate 94 at Exit 1.

A St. Croix County sheriff's deputy who investigated the incident said Germain told him that Hartman got mad because Germain told him to calm down.

According to Deputy Robert Bradford, Germain said that when he arrived at the crash site Hartman was yelling for someone to help him get an accident victim on a backboard.

Hartman then reportedly used profanity before two emergency workers came to assist him. Germain said Hartman glared at him when he told him to relax.

Shortly after the exchange, the ambulances went to the St. Patrick's parking lot to meet a medical helicopter, according to the sheriff's department's account of the incident.

Germain said a patient was being loaded onto the helicopter when Hartman approached him and said they had to "get something straightened out," according to disorderly conduct complaints filed against both Germain and Hartman by the sheriff's department.

Germain claims that Hartman yelled at him and continued to harass him after he said it wasn't the right time to discuss the matter. Germain said he was the ranking EMS officer at the scene.

Germain, according to court records, said he finally asked Hartman why things went smoothly when Hartman wasn't at an accident scene, but there were problems when he was.

Hartman swore at him, Germain said, and then hit him in the face. In a request for a restraining order against Hartman, Germain said Hartman also put him in a headlock and struck him repeatedly in the face with a closed fist.

Hartman told Bradford that Germain was the one who came at him with clenched fists and threw the first punch. He said he grabbed Germain around the head to defend himself and hit him a couple of times to get him to stop fighting, according to the sheriff's department complaint.

Germain threw punches wildly throughout the struggle, Hartman said.

The two men ended up on the ground and were separated by other emergency personnel, the complaint indicates.

Bradford said that when he arrived at the church parking, Germain was sitting on the back of ambulance and appeared to be in a lot of pain. He reportedly told Bradford that he had felt a tremendous pain in his back and couldn't breathe momentarily while he fought with Hartman. He also got a bloody nose in the fight.

Germain was put on a backboard and taken by his own ambulance service to Hudson Medical Center.

Bradford said he found Hartman in an ambulance from Stillwater that he had driven to the church parking lot. He was very upset, according to the sheriff's deputy.

According to the complaint, Hartman said Germain had hit him in the face and that he hit him back. Bradford said Hartman had a cut on his face and he gave him a ride to a different hospital to have it stitched.

The other emergency personnel at the scene said they didn't see who threw the first punch, the complaint says. It says they were focused on the patient and didn't notice Hartman and Germain fighting until they heard the commotion behind them and turned around.

The aftermath

Hudson Police Chief Richard Trende suspended Hartman from the police department for 30 days without pay following the incident. He said Hartman had displayed off-duty conduct unbecoming an officer and violated a municipal ordinance and five specific rules in the police department policy manual.

The city's Police and Fire Commission later reduced the suspension to five days, however, and decided Hartman was entitled to pay for the other 25 days of work that he lost.

The commission, nevertheless, was critical of the way Hartman handled himself during the incident.

In a decision dated April 15, 1997, it found that "Officer Hartman aggressively pursued Bart Germain by physically following him and attempting to engage him in conversation."

"Sufficient time elapsed between the verbal exchange occurring at the accident scene and the time of the confrontation in the vicinity of the helicopter landing zone to allow cooler heads to prevail," the commission said. Hartman's pursuit of Germain, commissioners said, "did not indicate mature or responsible judgment."

"However heroic Officer Hartman's service at the accident scene may have been, such heroic activities or conduct does not excuse the conduct which Mr. Hartman later engaged in," the commissioners added.

The commission - comprised of Thomas O'Connell, John Sias, Dale Willi and Anthony Markowski - ruled that Hartman had violated a police department rule against off-duty conduct unbecoming an officer.

The commissioners said they didn't have the authority put an officer on probation and returned Hartman to the police department "with full status."

The EMS Commission, meanwhile, suspended Germain from the ambulance crew pending a review. He reportedly chose not to rejoin the crew.

Charges issued and dismissed

The night of the fight, Hudson Police Sgt. James Stewart asked the sheriff's department to send an officer to the scene to investigate the incident, according to a court record. Stewart didn't do the questioning, the record indicates, because of his work association with Hartman.

Police Chief Richard Trende also ordered an internal police department investigation.

Polk County District Attorney Mark Biller was appointed special prosecutor in case. On Feb. 25, 1997, he charged both Hartman and Germain with disorderly conduct in violation of a county ordinance.

Both men entered into deferred prosecution agreements with the state in April of 1997. In return for them pleading no contest to the charges, the Biller delayed the prosecution for one year.

Hartman was ordered to make a $200 contribution to Turning Point, an area domestic abuse shelter. Germain was ordered to pay $200 to CounterAct, a school alcohol and drug abuse prevention program.

Biller moved to vacate the pleas and dismiss the charges against Hartman and Germain when they didn't get into anymore trouble with the law during the one-year period.

A fellow EMT of Hartman's encouraged the court not to honor the agreement with Hartman.

Jay Penfield sent letters to Judge C.A. Richards and the district attorney's office accusing Hartman of berating him over the police radio and later flying into a rage at him in person.

Penfield said Hartman called him names and insulted him.

"The most disturbing part of this attack is when he told me, and I quote, 'You better be careful. I am done being nice to you,' " Penfield wrote in a letter to then EMS Chief Kevin Lagos, copies of which were sent to the district attorney's office and Judge Richards.

"I feel this was a threat to do me harm. He has had trouble in the past with his temper and I believe he is capable of carrying out this threat," Penfield wrote.

In an apparent response to Penfield's letter, Biller wrote to St. Croix County District Attorney Eric Johnson: "One could make a persuasive case that Mr. Hartman has a very troublesome personality. I see this, however, as more of an employment issue than a case of additional criminality. As such, I've elected not to attempt to use it as a basis to void the agreement."

Hartman's attorney said the only thing Penfield's letter told him is that Penfield and Hartman don't get along.

Restraining order

Germain asked for and received a court order restraining Hartman from having any contact with him or his family soon after the Oct. 17, 1996, fight. The temporary order was extended in April of 1997 and Hartman was ordered to pay $150 for the costs of the action.

In October of 1997, Germain petitioned the court to have the injunction extended again.

"This case is far from over as the civil end of it could get very ugly," Germain wrote to Judge Needham, claiming a continuing need for the restraining order.

"Mr. Hartman is the one who attacked me, not the other way around," Germain also told the judge.

Hartman wrote to Judge Needham that Germain was playing the victim for purposes of the lawsuit.

"Germain went for the deferred prosecution for the same reason I did. It was an altercation between two individuals equally at fault. Let's get it over with," Hartman wrote.

Hartman said in the letter that he entered into the deferred prosecution agreement rather than fighting the disorderly conduct charge because he wanted "to avoid anymore exposure."

Judge Needham extended the restraining order again in November of 1997, but it was lifted in early 1998.

The lawsuit

Germain's lawsuit against Hartman and the city was filed April 11, 1997.

In it, Germain alleges that Hartman went into a rage because he gave him direction at the scene of the traffic accident. The civil complaint says Hartman sought out Germain at the church parking lot and vented his rage on him instead of tending to the needs of the accident victims.

The complaint accuses Hartman of taking the first swing, and without provocation.

"The actions constituted a willful, wanton and intentional act against Germain," entitling him to compensatory and punitive damages, the lawsuit says. It says Germain suffered pain, disabling injuries, medical bills and loss of wages.

While the city is no longer a defendant in the case, the lawsuit initially alleged that it was liable for Hartman's actions because he is a city employee. The city should have known that Hartman is "a violent and irresponsible individual who was likely to cause a physical injury to other citizens based upon his lack of anger control and proclivity towards physical violence," the lawsuit says.

Hartman, through his attorney, denies the allegations in his answer to the complaint. The document says Hartman acted in self-defense at all times during his confrontation with Germain.

Lundeen on Monday said Hartman is adamant that he didn't start the fight with Germain, adding, "He always has been."

When you consider Hartman's overall record, he is extremely qualified to serve as chief of the ambulance service, Lundeen said.