Breathitt County special deputy faces lawsuit after pulling over ambulance

An Eastern Kentucky EMT is suing a law enforcement officer after the ambulance he was driving was pulled over with a patient inside.

Jason Crigger, an EMT with Arrow-Med Ambulance, Inc., claims Breathitt County Special Deputy Steve McIntosh pulled over the ambulance for no good reason last week and harassed the crew.

McIntosh denied he did anything wrong and claims the lawsuit is nothing more than retaliation for a separate suit he filed against Arrow-Med last year.

Crigger claims he was transporting a dialysis patient home from treatment when McIntosh pulled the ambulance over on KY-15 near the Walmart in Jackson.

"Never gave me a reason that he pulled me over," Crigger said. "Never accused me of any traffic violations or anything of the sort. It appeared to me he just pulled me over to try to threaten and intimidate us."

In response, Crigger filed a lawsuit against McIntosh, who is also a Jackson city councilman.

McIntosh also owns a competing ambulance service in the county.

He did not want to talk on camera Monday, but told us he pulled the ambulance over for good reasons - though he would not say what those reasons were.

"They need to jerk this guy's badge," said Jay Arrowood, who owns Arrow-Med.

Arrowood is the defendant in a separate lawsuit claiming the company schemed to defraud Medicare and Medicaid out of more than $1,000,000.

McIntosh filed the suit last year and the federal government joined it earlier this month.

Arrowood said his company did nothing wrong.

"Mr. McIntosh needs to work on improving his own service versus trying to put our service out of business," Arrowood said Monday. "If you'll pull an ambulance over for no reason, hindering patient care, there's nothing that you won't do."

The newest lawsuit seeks compensation for Crigger's humiliation and suffering, punitive damages against McIntosh and an injunction preventing anyone acting in concert with McIntosh to stop interfering with Arrow-Med.

Breathitt County Sheriff Ray Clemons said Monday he is not aware of any wrongdoing and thinks McIntosh has been a good employee.

Arrowood claimed McIntosh has been bothering members of the Arrow-Med ambulance service for years.

There is no court date scheduled yet for the newest lawsuit.

Arrow-Med is mentioned in the newest lawsuit, but Crigger is listed as the sole plaintiff.