Woman sues paramedic, claims he posted her photo on Twitter with 'wide load' caption
A woman is seeking emotional distress damages in a suit against New York City and one of its former paramedics for allegedly ridiculing her weight in a photo posted to Twitter.
Teena Gamzon, 65, says she was devastated after the photo was publicized in a New York Post story about the paramedic, a lieutenant in the city’s fire department, report Reuters, the New York Daily News and the New York Post. The Post had alleged the paramedic, Timothy Dluhos, was linked to a Twitter account with an image of Adolf Hitler as a profile picture and posts slurring Jews, Asians and overweight people.
The photo that spurred the lawsuit shows the back of a person in a wheelchair that is digitally altered to include the words “wide load” on the back. Gamzon says she is the woman in a photo, which was also posted in several online stories.
Garzon tells Reuters she cried the entire day after seeing the photo, apparently taken after surgery on her leg for diabetes complications. She said the photo was “devastating” and made her physically ill.
