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A Boise TV station has confirmed that firefighter Brent Matthews said he performed the Heimlich maneuver on a near-drowning victim who died a few days later.

It started with this clip from a June 24, 2014 KTVB-TV story by Scott Evans about a dramatic drowning rescue of Martinez, a 56-year-old homeless man, by Boise firefighter Brent Matthews and Boise Police Officer Joe Rivas.



That sounds like a straightforward admission to me, plus in a June 25 e-mail to me, Evans confirmed to me that Mr. Matthews told him he'd performed the Heimlich maneuver on Mr. Martinez.

The first media report about my concerns (which have since been widely-reported) -- a July 16 Boise Weekly story by Harrison Berry -- reported it that way, but later backed off a notch:


Meanwhile, in response to my July 2 letter of concern to Boise Mayor David Bieter, here's how public officials played it.

Via Mayor Bieter's July 18 reply to me:

The Boise Fire Department spoke with the firefighter involved in the rescue of Mr. Martinez, reviewed the written report and checked with others, including supervisors who were on the scene, and has confirmed that the Heimlich maneuver was not performed on the drowning victim.

Via a July 22 e-mail to me from Ada County Coroner Erwin Sonnenberg:

I want to let you know that no one performed the Heimlich maneuver on the deceased.

Via a July 23 e-mail to me from Fire Chief Doan in which he refused to further discuss the matter:

(The) Heimlich maneuver was not performed on this rescue...The Boise Fire Department does not, and has never, instructed our dive team, EMT’s or Paramedics to perform theHeimlich Maneuver on drowning vicms, nor do we intend to in the future.

Via the July 16 Boise Weekly:

"It turns out that, sort of contrary to what KTVB reported, and it just may have been a simple misunderstanding, but it appears that the firefighter who pulled Mr. Martinez from the canal did, in fact, not use the Heimlich," said Boise Fire Department Communications Director Lynn Hightower.

Via the July 18 Idaho Statesman:

Did (Brent) Matthews actually use the Heimlich? The Boise Fire Department says no. Spokeswoman Lynn Hightower said other emergency response officials at the scene corroborated Matthews' report, which said he used CPR to bring Martinez back.

But KTVB is standing by their version.

On August 15, the station aired a follow-up report in which reporter Carolyn Holly unequivocally stated:

The firefighter, Brent Matthews, told KTVB he had performed the Heimlich maneuver during the rescue.

Here's the clip:



Via the same story:

The City of Boise's ethics commission determined Thursday it would not look into an alleged cover-up in an investigation involving a firefighter's treatment of a drowning victim...Now, other city leaders will determine if further investigation should be done.

More details from an August 15 e-mail I received from Assistant City Attorney Elizabeth Koeckeritz on behalf of the Ethics Commission:

(The) Ethics Commission determined that your allegations fell outside of their jurisdiction...However, Boise City takes these allegations seriously and has asked the Fire Medical Director and Human Resources to perform an independent investigation of these allegations.

A few days ago I shared these concerns in letters to the city's investigators and to the Idaho Attorney General's Criminal Law Division. (Page down to view; click here to download a pdf of both letters.)

1) An inaccurate report of the near-drowning incident may have been filed and false information may have been circulated by public employees.

2) Public employees conducted an inadequate investigation.

3) Mayor Bieter, Coroner Sonnenberg, and Chief Doan may have provided me with false information.

4) Ms. Hightower may have provided false information to the press.

City of Boise 2014 Ethics Commission: Peter J. Mundt, Dee Oldham, David Proctor (Chairman), Jodi Nafzger, Tony Roark (source)

On July 16, I reported how my letter to the mayor of Boise, Idaho, triggered a city investigation of a firefighter who told a TV news reporter that he performed the Heimlich maneuver to revive a drowning man.

Click here to watch the video -- this part's at timestamp 2:45. The first paragraph is out of the fireman's mouth. The second paragraph is out of the reporter's mouth.


As Sidebar readers know, "the Heimlich" for drowning rescue is unapproved and warned against as useless and potentially harmful by leading medical and water safety organizations, and its use has reportedly been associated with dozens of poor outcome cases.

The victim, a 56-year-old homeless man named Felix E. Martinez, formerly of Idaho City, died five days later, with no known family or friends.

Last week Boise Mayor David Bieter, Ada County Coroner Erwin Sonnenber, and Boise Fire Chief David Doan sent me e-mails -- get this -- denying the firefighter "Heimlich-ed" Martinez. 

Did I mention that the TV reporter confirmed to me via e-mail that the firefighter told him he used "the Heimlich" to get “water and sand out of (Martinez's) lungs”?

So today I sent another letter, this time to the City of Boise Ethics Commission, requesting an investigation of the investigation.

I also located case records for Felix Martinez via Boise County Court that led to his ex-wife who divorced in five years ago.

Per the bottom of the first page of my letter -- see below -- maybe she can help identify and locate her ex-husband's next of kin.

Click here to download a copy of my letter.

[7/30/14 UPDATE] This morning I received an e-mail from Elizabeth Koeckeritz, Boise Assistant City Attorney that stated, "The Commission has received your request for review. The Commission next meets on August 14 and we will discuss it at that time."

Via the city's website:

The Ethics Commission meets every 2nd Thursday of the month at 3p.m. in the Bonneville Room, 3rd Floor, Boise City Hall.

9/8/14: Liar's Dice, Part II: Boise TV contradicts claims by mayor and fire chief re: "Heimlich drowning" -- plus investigations updates
 

source

Clip from Police officer, firefighter team up to rescue man in canal by reporter Scott Evans, KTVB News, Boise, ID, June 25, 2014:



Via Question Triggers Probe into Drowning by reporter Harrison Berry in today's Boise Weekly:

In the late afternoon of June 23, Ada County Paramedics pulled Felix Martinez from the New York Canal.

He wasn't breathing. He had no pulse.

By the time Boise firefighter Brent Matthews dove into the canal, Martinez had been flowing with the current for an undetermined amount of time.

...Matthews said he used the Heimlich maneuver -- an emergency technique in which abdominal thrusts are repeated until a blockage is pushed out of a choking victim's airway -- until sand and other debris poured out of Martinez's mouth. Matthews then performed CPR for 25 minutes until he believed the victim had a pulse. Martinez was quickly loaded into an ambulance and taken to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center.

Martinez's condition worsened; within five days, he was dead.

...Martinez, a homeless man, may not have attracted much attention prior to the incident, but because of the circumstances of his rescue, he has been the subject of a formal inquiry -- in large part because of Peter Heimlich, son of Dr. Henry Heimlich, for whom the maneuver is named.

...(Peter) Heimlich said when he first saw KTVB's report on the rescue, including the interview with Boise firefighter Matthews, he was incredulous.

"My first question was, 'What articles is [Matthews] talking about?"

Heimlich fired off a request for an inquest into the rescue and death of Martinez to the office of Mayor Dave Bieter...[Boise Weekly] confirmed that a copy of the request was received by Ada County Coroner Erwin Sonnenberg.

"A fireman is a city employee. He used an unapproved drowning-rescue treatment on a patient. At this point, there are no parties interested in finding out why Mr. Matthews performed this treatment on Mr. Martinez, and I think there needs to be some governmental oversight," Sonnenberg told Boise Weekly.

...Heimlich's attempts to spur an investigation by the Boise Fire Department have been successful, and an incident review is taking place so BFD can better discern the facts of the case.

Via reporter Tom Jackman's June 3, 2011 Washington Post article:

In Tampa, which has one of the highest drowning rates in the country, Dr. James Orlowski said he has documented nearly 40 cases where rescuers performing the Heimlich maneuver have caused complications for the victim. Orlowski is chief of pediatrics and pediatric intensive care at University Community Hospital in Tampa.

Click here for my compilation of reports and statements by medical and water safety organizations re: the use of the Heimlich maneuver to revive near-drowning victims.