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Paramedic Joshua Colon, 31, is accused of falsifying screening and consent forms for three missing doses, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd told a press conference on Tuesday. Colon told detectives he was covering a supervisor, Judd said.
According to an affidavit released by the sheriff’s office, Colon received three vials containing 10 doses of vaccine each on January 6 and was tasked with administering them to the firefighters. First responders who receive the vaccine must complete and sign screening and consent forms, which are collected by people administering the vaccine, the extract says.
At the end of the day, Colon was missing information for some doses.
Colon told officials he would get the missing information and reported three names, he said, of firefighters who were the recipients, the affidavit excerpt says. Two told investigators they had never received the vaccine and that the third name was not a real person, according to a press release from the sheriff’s office.
When MPs met Colon this week, he allegedly admitted to creating and signing the three forms himself and admitting they were fictitious, according to the press release.
He told MPs that a supervisor “joked with him” about “some shots for the supervisor’s mother,” according to the press release.
“According to Colon, he refused to provide these vaccines to the supervisor, at which point the supervisor said he would tell those higher up in the chain of command that Colon was selling vaccines outside of work,” says the press release.
“What happened was that there were three syringes containing three doses of vaccine that Joshua Colon put in a plastic bag, put in a special refrigerator and sealed. And then, under the direction of ( supervisor), he took a break, ”Judd said.
When Colon returned, the seal was broken and the vaccines were gone, Judd said, adding that Colon then “made up the stories and the false documents” to explain the missing doses.
“It’s a question of public trust”
His attorney, David R. Carmichael, said in a statement to CNN that Colon “encountered a very difficult situation when a supervisor asked Mr. Colon to provide him with unauthorized doses of the Covid vaccine … at the family use of supervisors “.
Carmichael said Colon refused to do so and refused again when the supervisor recommended that he cover the missing vaccine doses saying they were wasted.
“The supervisor then threatened to tell people that Mr. Colon had offered to sell the vaccine to the supervisor, so he should just give it to the supervisor or risk being fired.” Mr. Colon again refused. The supervisor ordered Mr. Colon to take a lunch break, ”said the lawyer. When his client returned, the vaccine doses were missing, he said.
Colon tried to contact his boss but found he was out of town and, “fearing retaliation,” covered up the missing doses, Carmichael said.
Judd said two doses were later collected from the supervisor’s car. They were not viable, said Polk County Fire Chief Robert Weech.
“In the end, Joshua tried to cover for the (supervisor),” Judd said. “Joshua set the circumstances for the vaccines to be stolen. If Joshua had just gone to his boss at that point, he would have been the hero.
Colon was charged with four counts of forgery, four counts of putting a counterfeit instrument into circulation, four counts of falsifying medical records, two counts of creating a fictitious identity document, as well as criminal use of a personal ID card and official misconduct, according to the sheriff’s office. Press release.
He was released on bail, the statement said, and the investigation – including the role the supervisor may have played – is ongoing.
“It’s a matter of public trust, we take it seriously,” Weech said at the press conference. “We had a special duty, and that was to deliver the vaccine to the first responders who help the public.”
Colon resigned from the department, Weech said. The sheriff said they would also speak to the supervisor.
CNN has reached out to Colon for comment. His lawyer said Colon “deeply regrets his weakness in not alerting the chain of command to the theft of the vaccine, accepts responsibility for his mistake in covering up the theft, and in an effort to protect his agency’s reputation, has resigned of his position. “
“I only have one question for them,” the sheriff said at the press conference. “What were you thinking about?”
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