‘Paramedic’ Who Told Man His Mother Had Collapsed Turns Out to Be Cop

A Yerushalayim resident says he was the victim of a “dirty trick” by police, who frightened him needlessly – and in vain – when they told him his mother had collapsed and was being rushed to the hospital. Police for their part admitted to the ruse – but said that they had run out of ideas to drag the man in for questioning.

The man said that he received a phone call from an individual claiming to be a paramedic, who told him he was needed urgently at the hospital. “He told me that my mother had collapsed and that she was on the way to the hospital, and that I should come quickly,” the man, who gave his name as Avraham, told Channel 12.

The paramedic, who claimed to be from Ichud Hatzalah, said he was in the ambulance with Avraham’s mother, but when he asked to speak with her, the paramedic told Avraham that she was unconscious. Avraham asked several other questions, he said, but the person on the other end of the phone gave was sounded like evasive answers.

He got off the phone with the paramedic and called his mother’s home to get more information – with the phone answered by none other than the mother. Relieved, Avraham told his mother the story, who chuckled at the police tactic – telling him that officers had just been by, searching for him. Avraham then called the “paramedic” back, telling him he was on to him, and at that point, his interlocutor admitted to being a police officer, and requested that he meet with him.

It turned out that Avraham was wanted for questioning in connection with a fight police claim he had been involved in, and that they had been searching for him for several weeks, but had been unable to pin him down.

In response to the report, Yerushalayim police told Channel 12 that there was a warrant out for Avraham’s arrest. “We have tried many times to bring him in for questioning but have so far been unsuccessful. Even after we managed to get in touch with him, he refused to come in for questioning.

“An initial examination of the incident indicates that the officer who claimed to be a paramedic acted improperly. His behavior will be investigated and treated accordingly.”

Avraham said that he had nothing to do with any altercation and that police were simply harassing him. “I have no criminal record and have done nothing,” he told Channel 12. “They have my address and phone number and know where to find me anytime. Even if you have something against someone, you don’t call them up and falsely claim their mother is in the hospital.”