"A man who collapsed while waiting for Berkeley paramedics to arrive later died at the hospital, city employees have told Berkeleyside, after large protests that wracked the city earlier this month delayed first responders.

Berkeley Fire Chief Gil Dong has declined to comment on the incident, saying he is prohibited from doing so because of medical privacy laws.

“Anytime there is a delay it causes us concern,” he said, speaking generally. “Our objective is to get there rapidly so we can start treating the patient.”

Several city staffers — who asked not to be named because they are not authorized to speak with the media — confirmed that paramedics were delayed in their response to help the man who collapsed, and said he later died at the hospital."...

No additional information about the Kittredge Street incident was available from the scanner recordings, but several people aware of the case said the man who was assisted by paramedics later died at the hospital. Though there is no way to know with certainty whether the man might have survived had paramedics reached him sooner — given the amount of information currently available — people familiar with the case said the demonstration posed a definite obstacle during the call.

“Nobody could get to him,” a city staffer said, of the man on Kittredge Street, who is believed to have had a heart attack. “Fire couldn’t get in without protection, and everyone was tied up. [Paramedics] were able to revive him to get him to the hospital, but it took 35 minutes to get [to Kittredge] because protesters were in the area and no one could go in safely."

http://www.berkeleyside.com/2014/12/19/e...s-delayed-help/