Arbitrator gives job back to fired Pa. paramedic

PITTSBURGH (AP) — An arbitrator has ordered reinstatement for a Pittsburgh paramedic fired after a snowbound man died during a 30-hour wait for an ambulance.

Pittsburgh public safety director Michael Huss said Monday that the city will appeal the ruling.

Josie Dimon was a medic crew chief during a blizzard in February 2010. She was fired after recordings revealed her saying that a man suffering from abdominal pain should walk to an ambulance that couldn’t reach his home in the snow.

Ultimately, 50-year-old Curtis Mitchell died before getting help, despite 10 calls to 911. An autopsy showed Mitchell died of heart disease.

City officials said Monday that the arbitrator ordered Dimon be given a year’s back pay and that only a three-day suspension appear on her record.