A former Miami firefighter who was caught on camera repeatedly punching a handcuffed man in a video that went viral is speaking out to defend his actions and saying he's the victim.
Robert Webster, a former lieutenant with the City of Miami Department of Fire Rescue, had brought Antonio Cruz to the emergency room at Jackson Memorial Hospital on Oct. 15 after Cruz ingested heroin and cocaine.
Video from the hospital showed Cruz spit at Webster while handcuffed to a bed, before the firefighter returned the favor with a series of punches.
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"I remember taking the first swing at the individual and then I remember being grabbed and restrained by various people," Webster said in an exclusive interview with NBC 6. "He attempted to take my life and I responded, in my opinion, accordingly."
When the video was leaked, Webster said he had no regrets, and when asked said he still stands by that.
"Regret being a victim? No one should regret being a victim. I am deemed both in my mind and the state attorney’s office to be a victim in this situation," he said. "My only regret is his actions."
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He was also asked why he decided to punch Cruz.
"That’s not to me a legitimate way to put it. It’s why did you react? And that’s like asking someone why did you react when your hand accidentally touched the stove? It's not a thought, it’s how you were wired to respond to that type of situation," he said. "A patient is a patient until the rules change. That patient became an assailant and I became a victim."
Webster said it was his firefighter training on the practice of universal precautions that caused his reaction. Universal precautions is a safety precaution that assumes all patients have infectious diseases that can be spread through body fluids. Webster said it was unclear at the time if Cruz was infected.
"I didn’t wake up that day and say 'I’m going to punch a guy in the face.' I also didn’t wake up and say I’m going to have some guy attempt to introduce various communicable diseases to my eyes, mouth and nose," Webster said. "It’s not something you plan on, but when it happens no one can sit back on Monday morning and say what that quarterback should have done on Sunday afternoon."
Webster decided to retire early from the department after the incident. Cruz is being charged with battery for spitting in Webster’s face.
