Long tansfers
You are right that the job was probably getting to him . Doing transfers all day can be quite mind-numbing. In addition, he was coming from downriver to New Balitmore. I have transfered to that facility before and its a haul for me and I'm much closer.
What it boils down to is your attitude, professionalism, and bedside manner. A long ride like that in the back can be tedious; who wants to sit in silence for an hour long tansfer? What happened here is that an EMT (who obviously has a mental problem himself IF this is true) lost control of the situation and himself. I can see this happening with some people and have seen it myself with private and municipal EMS.
This has happened to me before with patients suddenly making sexual remarks and gestures. There was not much else to do but DOCUMENT DOCUMENT DOCUMENT. Refuse politely and get back to their med hx or just don't say anything and change the subject. At its worst, I switched with my partner and drove instead. Let the receiving facility know what happened right away (incident reports help too). Sorry, I'm not going to lose my job and be tared and feathered for someone who just needs their meds.
Lastly, come on we are in this together. A EMT working for a private company has the same license as a municipal EMT. Some of us have no desire to be a firefighter, so where are we supposed to work (unless Detroit starts hiring again)? A background check might not do anything anyways if they have never been presented with the opportunity to act on a desire. Case in point: A person I know was straight As through HS- college, good job, no record, FAMILY, and just appeared on Michigan's sexual offender list for CSC with a minor. That was a surprise. Weirdos come from all backgrounds, sizes shapes and colors.
If this turns out to be true, I'm going to be sick. But until then, let the system work and we'll go from there.
J