It took 26 minutes for an ambulance from Metro Atlanta to arrive. Why?

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Steve Christian, a 77-year-old veteran, suffered from cognitive memory loss, according to a letter he left behind. His letter said the diagnosis made him want to commit suicide.

On March 3, 2023, in the rain, Christian shot himself in the parking lot of Blackburn Park in Brookhaven, Georgia. While waiting for an ambulance, Christian expressed sadness to officers and apparently expressed a desire to live, according to body camera footage obtained by Atlanta News First InvestigatesCrews asked Christian for help, recalling that the veteran had said he had “made a mistake.”

Officers expressed frustration and dismay at the ambulance’s delay. One officer said, “This is a gunshot wound to the lung, then a second wound to the chest. Let’s go ahead and ask for an ETA. They’re going to have to speed this up.” Another officer said, “This is unbelievable, man. I can’t believe it.”

After 22 minutes, a unit from the DeKalb Fire Department arrived, but the fire truck was unable to transport the injured to emergency care. Twenty-five minutes after the first officer’s intervention, an ambulance from American Medical Response finally arrived.

But Steve Christian was pronounced dead at the hospital.

For Brookhaven Police Chief Brandon Gurley, it’s hard to follow the entire scene through body camera footage. “I called for help over and over again and the officers on scene helped as best they could, but the help this individual needed was an operating room,” he said. “That help didn’t come in time.”

The 26-minute wait time for an ambulance is more than double DeKalb County’s 12-minute standard for life-threatening calls, a standard AMR agreed to when it signed a contract with the county. The current contract has been in effect since 2019.

Atlanta News First Investigates Brookhaven city records were analyzed over the past four years. The data is organized into quarterly ambulance response times and shows that 90% of AMR’s response time to life-threatening calls increased from 16 minutes in 2020 to 21 minutes this year, so far.

AMR declined an interview request, but sent the following statement:

“American Medical Response (AMR) values ​​our long-standing relationship with DeKalb County and the communities we serve, including Brookhaven. We actively collaborate with DeKalb County as they invest in improving the EMS system throughout the county. Additionally, we remain open to collaborating with Brookhaven on innovative solutions and approaches, as we have successfully done with other communities such as Dunwoody, which has significantly improved the efficiency of the EMS system.

“These improvements would build on previous investments AMR has made in partnership with DeKalb County in Brookhaven, including a state-of-the-art EMS center and a resource for community and paramedic training programs. AMR remains committed to working with our partner public safety agencies and local officials to find equitable solutions to address all challenges to the EMS system, including any underlying issues related to the March 2023 case in question. We look forward to continuing to provide the highest level of emergency medical services available to the communities we serve.”

Brookhaven police reports show that in some cases, wait times are so long that officers decide to drive the victim to the hospital in their own police vehicles, which are not equipped for such tasks.

“We don’t have stretchers, we don’t have IVs,” Gurley said. “We don’t have the means to administer medications on the way to hospitals, and we don’t have enough space in the car.”

“We’ve become more impatient,” said Brookhaven Mayor John Park, who blames the growing delays on DeKalb County’s failure to hold AMR accountable. “The lack of enforcement and the penalties are so low that it’s actually cheaper for AMR to pay the penalties than it is to provide the services,” he said.

Ambulance companies are subject to fines if they fail to respond in a timely manner. Under AMR’s contract with DeKalb County, AMR must respond within 12 minutes to 90 percent of life-threatening calls each quarter. But if AMR doesn’t meet the 90 percent threshold, it faces a $1,000 fine for every percent below that.

In 2020, AMR was already facing a $2 million fine from DeKalb County. However, according to the documents, the company only paid $600,000.

Despite the county’s announcement of adding $3.8 million to improve emergency medical service wait times and AMR’s public commitment to solutions, Park said, “They say they’re doing it, but it’s really just words more than anything.”

That’s why Brookhaven wants its own ambulance fleet, a move that would require the Georgia Department of Public Health to change zoning and consider other eligibility criteria. But even if the state approved it, Brookhaven would still need to fund a new ambulance company, which could raise taxes for residents.

But “it will cost us dearly if we don’t,” Park said, and the city has filed the necessary paperwork to sever its ties with AMR. The state is still considering Brookhaven’s petition.

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