By Stephen Witt (Exclusive from Our Time Press)
They may have only one rickety ambulance in running condition, and operate on a shoestring budget, but the Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps (BSVAC) – the nation’s first African-American-run all volunteer ambulance corps – once again showed their worth in being the first responders to the execution-style murders of NYPD Police Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu on Myrtle Avenue Dec. 21.
And true to the corps mission, the three volunteer responders – Baron Johnson, Tatiana Alexander and Christopher Womble – were all trained in emergency response through the BSVAC.
“We received a priority one call that two people were shot and we were first ones on the scene,” said BSVAC Chief and Co-founder James “Rocky” Robinson, who retired after 40 years as a FDNY EMS captain. “When they (Johnson, Alexander and Womble) got there they had to pull the police out of the vehicle because they both appeared lifeless. One of my respondents went to the passenger side and the other two went to the driver side. They started CPR and then put Ramos in our vehicle. We also helped put the other officer (Liu) into the fire department vehicle that arrived two or three minutes after we arrived.”
Robinson said in the meantime, he went to meet the ambulances at Woodhull Medical Center to make sure the center was ready to receive the officers. Ramos was pronounced dead at the hospital about an hour later.
Following the incident the ambulance had to be quarantined for several days to collect evidence in the vehicle.
Robinson said since the incident, the BSVAC has received letters and some donations from across the country.
“We’ve been training our youth from the community in emergency care and getting them jobs since 1988. We do for our own and support each other, and have been saving lives at the same time. It helps the economy. It helps the poor in the community. Everyone talks about the middle class, but we’re fighting to get to the middle class,” said Robinson.
Robinson said the BSVAC has five ambulances but only one that is running.
“We have a $3,000 light bill and need new tires for the ambulance, and our volunteers we’re training have no uniforms. We’re trying to get a matching grant of $125,000, but how can I get $125,000 for God’s sake?” he said.
Robinson noted that some ambulance companies get support from their local politicians, and singled out the Jewish politicians that often come up with large allocations for their local volunteer ambulance companies. But our local politicians only give us peanuts with the exception of City Councilwoman Darlene Mealy, who allocated a hefty $20,000, he said.
But many civic leaders in the community recognize the BSVAC’s importance and the work they do.
“The BSVAC is a true asset to our neighborhood,” said Community Board 3 Chair Tremaine Wright. “This group of volunteers has been providing the highest quality of emergency medical and ambulance transport services to Bedford Stuyvesant and surrounding neighborhoods for over two decades. They also provide EMT exam prep – and their students pass! We thank them for their steadfast service.”
