SAN ANTONIO – An emergency response headquarters on the city’s Northeast Side is the latest target of catalytic converter theft.
United Medevac said one of its units was disabled after a man stole the catalytic converter out of one it’s on duty emergency units.
“It crosses the line for anybody to have their equipment stolen. I mean, somebody’s getting a couple hundred dollars, and it costs you thousands to repair. I mean, even on a regular vehicle, it’s thousands of dollars to repair it. And what do they get for it?” said Kevin Koch, a paramedic for United Medevac.
Staff said they were lucky to have had a unit on patrol that was able to respond to a service call received after the theft, but they added that will not always be the case.
“You know, we’re a 911 service, and we could be making a call for a heart attack, could be a stroke, and in those instances, we got lucky we had another unit available,” Koch said.
After several theft cases, United Medevac said there is a need for more accountability.
“We’d like to see harsher enforcement. You know, where do they take the catalytic converters and turn them in? I mean, there’s got to be a little bit more accountability on that side to, you know, take away the incentive,” said Koch.
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