Oklahoma residents are protesting the firing of an EMS director who was left go for criticizing officials for dissolving the city's ambulance service in order to outsource it.
Devin Humphrey, the former Cordell EMS director and assistant fire chief, was terminated for voicing concerns about the possibility of the city contracting a private company for its ambulance service, KFOR-TV reports. According to Humphrey, he was fired by Mayor Jerry Beech for allegedly falsifying budget numbers and giving out wrong information, which Humphrey denies.
“I’m angry,” he told KFOR. "I feel stabbed in the back, as does my entire crew."
Along with Humphey's firing, residents also were upset over a potential move to a private ambulance service. Under the current system, county sales tax is divided between the Cordell and Burns Flat ambulance services. If Cordell moves to a private service, then the city loses its share of the sales tax, according to KFOR.
“What’s been very encouraging is the outreach of the community, showing how much they do support and how much they do believe in what we have here,” Humphrey told KFOR.
Beech's office did not return respond to KFOR's requests for comment.
