Zachary McGinnis shows where he was cut when a man hit him in the head with a glass at BJ’s on Tuesday.
A Dallas paramedic allegedly refused to treat a gay man at BJ’s NXS! this week after the man was hit in the head with a glass by another patron.
Zachary Taylor McGinnis said he was at the gay bar on Fitzhugh Avenue on Tuesday evening, July 29. He said he was speaking to a woman who was apparently with a man standing on her other side when the man suddenly hit him in the head with a glass, grabbed the woman and stormed out.
McGinnis said he and a friend followed the couple outside and were there when Dallas Fire and Rescue personnel arrived. Paramedics in Dallas Fire Department Truck 8 responded to the 911 call.
“The [paramedic] gets out, walks around the truck, saw my bleeding head, saw the other patrons outside and said, ‘I’m not treating him,’” McGinnis said.
McGinnis’ friend said, “Excuse me?” And the paramedic repeated, “I’m not treating him.”
“Why?” McGinnis asked.
“You have blood on you,” the paramedic said.
“Aren’t you a paramedic?” McGinnis’ friend asked.
“You need to step back,” the paramedic said.
Police also responded to the scene, apparently in response to a call for assistance by the paramedic.
A female paramedic gave McGinnis gauze and a bandage and is not part of his complaint.
When police and paramedics left, McGinnis said he tried to go back into BJ’s to close his bar tab. Management wouldn’t allow him back in and, he said, he still hasn’t retrieved his credit card.
McGinnis spoke to Dallas police LGBT liaison Laura Martin, who directed him to fire department liaison Sherry Durant. Martin said she spoke to Durant, who said she will guide McGinnis through the complaint process. But as of Friday noon, Durant has not returned repeated calls from Dallas Voice or calls from McGinnis.
Dallas Voice has also been unable to contact anyone from BJ’s NXS! for comment.
Dallas Voice will continue to follow developments in this situation. Watch for updates as we get more information.
