Firefighter charged with theft from elderly woman following 911 call

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This article was published 09/02/2016 (3509 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A veteran Winnipeg firefighter has been formally charged with stealing jewelry and cash from a 76-year-old patient in medical distress after responding to a 911 call inside her Pembina Highway home.

Darren Fedyck, 46, made his first court appearance on Tuesday. The matter was adjourned until next month. Fedyck remains free on bail and suspended without pay pending a further review of his job status.

Fedyck was arrested just before Christmas and released on a promise to appear in court on a charge of theft under $5,000. Court documents show the alleged incident occurred on Oct. 2. The named victim died shortly after being taken to hospital.

Police began investigating after several of the firefighter’s colleagues came forward with information about something they claim to have witnessed weeks earlier while on the first-responder call.

“All members of the fire and paramedic service are shocked at these allegations, as these charges go against everything a firefighter or paramedic stands for,” Alex Forrest, president of the United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg, told the Free Press in a statement last month. “We hope the allegations are untrue.”

Forrest said it’s possible Fedyck may be put back to work in a role where he would have no contact with the public while his matter remains before the courts.

“We will ensure this person will have due process as this person is innocent until proven otherwise in a court of law,” said Forrest. “We can state that we are not involved in the criminal defence of this person nor are we funding the defence in any way.”

The Free Press requested comment from WFPS administration, but a city spokeswoman said they would not be discussing what she called “human resource matters.”

Sources say the firefighters who turned the accused in are now facing their own scrutiny over the delay in coming forward. They could face internal sanctions if found to have deliberately withheld information.

“He wasn’t originally turned in by co-workers out of fear of not having enough on him,” one firefighter familiar with the case told the Free Press. “Ninety-nine-point-nine per cent of us believe that our public trust is the only thing that matters. The point-one per cent who don’t are just sad.”

Police forwarded the findings of their investigation to the Crown’s office, which authorized the charge in December following a brief review of the file.

City records show Fedyck has previously been given a commendation for life-saving efforts on the job.

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