Two EMS providers assaulted on Parks Highway in Nenana, troopers say

Two emergency medical providers were assaulted along the Parks Highway in Nenana early Monday, Alaska State Troopers said.

Troopers were notified at 6:37 a.m. on Sept. 7 that David Williams was fighting with EMS personnel, according to dispatch AK26088651 from D Detachment, which covers Interior and Eastern Alaska. Investigation determined he assaulted two providers. He was remanded to Fairbanks Correctional Center on two counts of fourth-degree assault, a misdemeanor.

The charges are accusations. Williams is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The dispatch does not include accounts from Williams or the providers, or say whether either was injured.

The International Association of Fire Fighters, in its EMS violence toolkit, lists Alaska among states with an "enhanced penalty" that "includes EMS in protected personnel for felony assault." The dispatch does not say why the charges here are misdemeanors.