GARDNER — On Wednesday, June 12, 2024, at 1:25 p.m. Officers Alexandria Laderoute and Angel Espada of the Gardner Police Department were dispatched to Heywood Hospital following a report that hospital staff had been assaulted by a patient.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narratives of Officer Laderoute and Sergeant John Braun and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
When she arrived on scene, Officer Laderoute spoke with a security guard who said she had been strangled by a patient.
“While I was speaking with [the security guard], she was receiving medical treatment at Heywood Hospital and said she was still experiencing tightness in her throat while breathing and discomfort while speaking and swallowing,” Officer Laderoute said.
The security guard said that a doctor had ordered the security guards to restrain a patient – later identified as Roman Medvedev – in order to prevent him from leaving the hospital because he was “intoxicated by alcohol and unable to leave the hospital care voluntarily.”
According to police, Roman Medvedev, 46, is a resident of 14 Wright Street in Gardner.
After the doctor’s order, Medvedev tried to escape from the hospital. The security guard stated that she and two other guards tried to “deescalate the situation” and get Medvedev to return to his room voluntarily, but Medvedev refused to cooperate and ran into another patient’s quarters, where “a struggle ensued.”
“[The security guard] said that at this time, Roman and security fell to the ground and a struggle ensued,” Officer Laderoute said. “[She] told me Roman was on the ground beside her and had his arm and hand were wrapped around [her] throat. [She] said that her breathing was restricted by Roman’s grip and staff was unable to free [her] throat/neck from Roman’s control for a short period of time.”
Officer Laderoute observed that the security guard’s neck and throat area appeared red and irritated, and her right eye showed signs of a burst blood vessel. Based on her training and experience, Officer Laderoute noted these symptoms as consistent with strangulation.
Officer Laderoute then spoke with a Heywood Hospital staff member who reported witnessing the altercation between Roman Medvedev and security.
“[The staff member] told me she watched as Roman was flailing his arms at staff and attempting to flee before the scuffle ensued.”
Officer Laderoute also spoke with a male security guard who said he saw Medvedev gain control over the female security guard by placing his arm around her neck and pulling her to the ground. The security team member also reported experiencing leg pain from the incident, as both Roman and the staff fell on top of him during the struggle.
“It should be noted that earlier in the shift, I was present in the Heywood Hospital Emergency Room for an unrelated call to service when I saw Roman arrive to receive treatment,” Officer Laderoute said. “Almost immediately, Roman left his hospital room and was attempting to leave the ER.”
Officer Laderoute said that at that time, ER staff told her that Medvedev was “intoxicated from alcohol and not “cognitive” enough “to make his own decisions.”
“Roman was agitated at that time and I spoke with him, advising him to return to his hospital room until a sober party arrived, or he was released from hospital care, which he complied,” Officer Laderoute said. “Hospital staff advised me that later when Roman’s wife arrived, she and Roman had an altercation in another language and Roman became irate, prompting this incident. Upon my arrival, Roman was already restrained in a restraint chair and while taking this report from hospital staff, I again had to deescalate Roman as he was yelling and creating a disturbance from his room.”
The female security guard said that she wanted to press charges, so police charged Medevev with strangulation or suffocation and assault and battery on ambulance personnel/health care provider.
“Officer Espada advised Roman that he was under arrest while Roman still receiving care at Heywood Hospital,” Officer Laderoute said. “After being evaluated, [the female security guard] advised me that she has swelling in her neck and was diagnosed with a slipped disc from the incident.”
Sergeant John Braun who conducted the administrative booking of Medvedev said that Officer Espada told him that Medvedev “has been stating how depressed he is and started punching himself in the face and needed to be calmed to stop the self injurious behavior.”
“I then spoke with hospital staff and informed them of the request for an 18A, and the LCSW [licensed clinical social worker] stationed at Heywood ER was prompted on the circumstances for this arrest and out request for evaluation,” Sgt. Braun said. Later adding, “At 9:07 p.m., Medvedev was cleared by the ER and CSO, he was brought to GPD where I completed booking.”
Medvedev’s arraignment was scheduled for June 13, 2024. According to court documents, his arraignment was rescheduled to June 17 because Medvedev was “unavailable.” After his arraignment on June 17 – where Medvedev plead not guilty – Judge Andrew Abdella ordered a probation transportation warrant on behalf of the Newburyport District Court for Medvedev for a probation violation. Medvedev was held in custody by the Worcester County House of Correction until he was transported to the probation court for the probation violation hearing.
Medvedev’s next court appearance is a pretrial hearing scheduled for Aug. 14, 2024.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story was from June, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to get the court documents for the incident. FOIAs are time consuming.
To learn more about News Link Live’s unique business model, please read the following:
An online business model that could replace local newspapers
The Medium is the Message by Marshall McCLuhan
The Ego and the ID by Sigmund Freud
