EMT Who Impersonated Cop 'Should Be Wearing These Cuffs,' Says BP

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — The Brooklyn borough president joined a cacophony of voices calling for the arrest of Robert Gala, an emergency responder who city officials say ducked 911 calls and repeatedly impersonated an NYPD officer.

News that Gala — a 25-year-old EMT the Department of Investigation found in 2017 to have falsified records and ignored priority medical calls — remained on the EMS payroll spurred outrage this week among elected officials who demanded he be fired and investigated.

"Not only did he impersonate a cop, he impersonated a person who cared," said Eric Adams, holding a pair of plastic restraints that Gala used to detain New York citizens. "He shouldn't be carrying these cuffs, he should be wearing these cuffs."

Adams called for an investigation days after the Daily News first reported Gala, the son of FDNY Deputy Assistant Chief Michael Gala, had been repeatedly caught breaking the law and shirking his EMT responsibilities.

The report found Gala had forged his partner's signature on a patient's report, lied to a 911 dispatcher to bail on a 911 call, and had been arrested three times for impersonating a police officer.

Surveillance video also shows Gala flashing a fake badge at a Brooklyn man, restraining him with plastic handcuffs and searching his pockets, according to Adams, who pressed Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro and Mayor de Blasio to take action immediately against a city employee he said endangered the lives of people whose 911 calls he ignored.

“It baffles me beyond belief that the mayor of this city has not looked at how this individual has tarnished the FDNY,” said Adams. "All of us should be outraged this person is still wearing an EMT uniform."

Adams joins City Councilman Andy King, a Democrat who represents the Bronx, in the demand for a Gala's immediate arrest.

“It’s deplorable," King told the New York Daily News. “The mayor has a responsibility to act, the commissioner has a responsibility to act, and if they can’t, they are part of the problem.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a press conference Thursday that he was aware of the situation and was waiting for more information to decide how best to respond.

“I want to see what the investigation shows,” he said. "I’m not familiar with him or the specifics."

Photo by Kathleen Culliton