Two Benidorm Local Police officers are scheduled to be tried by the First Section of the Alicante Provincial Court on Tuesday. They are accused of humiliating and belittling a trans woman due to her sexual identity while on duty and commuting in a police vehicle. The Prosecutor’s Office is provisionally requesting a penitentiary sentence of two years and two months for each of the defendants in connection with an alleged hate crime.

The incident took place on May 1st, 2020, during the quarantine in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It garnered substantial media attention after a video was shared on social media, purportedly from within the police vehicle.

In those images, one of the police officers is observed speaking to a pedestrian on the street from the passenger seat: “I am being serious.” You are even more unattractive during the day. You are exceedingly unpleasant. What are you currently engaged in, given that you are unable to engage in sexual activity or to steal? What is your current living situation? What are you doing now, if you used to only get seduced a few times, because you are so unattractive?

No, I did not report you; I informed you of this recently. He states, “You are not permitted to be in this area,” while his colleague, who is purportedly documenting the video and operating the vehicle, responds, “No, no, we must report her.” The other officer instructs the victim, “Depart, you pig.” Benidorm City Council provisionally suspended both officers, and one of them was arrested.

The prosecution’s narrative is that one of the defendants captured the incident on his phone and subsequently transmitted it to a colleague, who subsequently shared it with a WhatsApp group of colleagues. Additionally, one of them uploaded the footage to YouTube.

Copyright: YouTube

In 2024, the province of Alicante’s Emergency Information and Coordination Centre (CICU) received 259,869 calls from residents seeking emergency assistance or medical attention. This number supplements the 350,958 in Valencia and 79,529 in Castellón that are managed by this agency, which answers to the Ministry of Health. In the Valencian Community, around 690,356 calls were received overall.

The CICU reports that 237,515 calls, or 34.4% of the total, were for a health emergency, and 102,464 calls, or 14.8% of the total, were for a medical emergency. Additionally, 181,549 calls, or 26.2%, were for urgent unsupported and secondary medical transport (between hospitals), and 10.9% of calls were for medical consultations, precisely 75,537. The remaining 101,928 calls, or 14.7% of the total, were related to alerts or consultations on incidents of some kind.

As a result, the number of calls received at the CICUs has increased by 2.4% in comparison to the prior year. Of the 637,756 calls in 2023, 342,641 were for incidents in Valencia, 249,313 in Alicante, and 81,802 in Castellón, according to the data.

Similarly, in 2024, there were an average of 1,886 calls per day in the CICUs, compared to 1,846 calls per day on average in 2023.

In order to address any urgent or emergency health situation that may arise in the Valencian Community, the Department of Health’s Emergency Information and Coordination Centres are manned by medical coordinators, nursing staff, announcers, and health documentation technicians around-the-clock, every day of the year.

Everyday medical transportation

In order to provide medical transport in response to these emergency requests, the Autonomous Community’s emergency medical trucks were frequently called upon. In actuality, the province of Alicante performed 144,933 services.

Overall, 398,672 transfers were made across the three provinces. In addition to those in Alicante, there are 56,344 in Castellón and 197,395 in Valencia. This averages 1,089 transfers per day. When an emergency occurs, the CICU requests the mobilization of the most appropriate healthcare resource based on the type of emergency, taking into account the priority of the call or the underlying pathology. Thus, for emergency care, the Emergency Medical Assistance Service (SAMU) units performed 68,794 services, representing 188 daily mobilizations.

The Nursing Advanced Life Support (ALS) vehicles performed 5,376 operations, with an average of 15 daily services. For their part, Basic Life Support (BLS) units performed 288,449 calls throughout the year, with an average of 788 calls per day. And in the case of non-assisted transport ambulances, which typically transport patients, they performed 36,053 calls, representing an average of 99 calls per day.

Tips in case of an emergency

The CICU has reminded everyone that in the event of any medical emergency, the emergency number 112 must be called immediately. They insist that it is essential to remain calm and respond quickly and concisely to the brief questionnaire provided by the operators to ensure optimal management of the call. It is also important to provide the precise address of the location of the emergency, indicate the sex and approximate age of each patient, as well as any other known information (illnesses or medical history) in order to facilitate medical care.

Accused of purposefully running over a 35-year-old woman at a bus stop in the rural district of El Rebolledo in Alicante and then attacking her with scissors and a knife, among other bladed weapons, a 37-year-old woman and her 16-year-old daughter were taken into custody by the National Police this week. Days after the two parties argued, the attack took place.

The event happened on Camino del Fardacho in El Rebolledo last Monday at approximately 11 a.m. Following their prompt response after being mobilised by the 091 dispatch team, officers from Grupo de Motos de Seguridad Ciudadana -los “Rayos” (the Citizen Security Motorcycle Group (the “Rayos”)) and the Alicante Central Police Station apprehended the two suspected offenders after the National Police received a report of a hit-and-run and assault with sharp objects at a bus stop.

The victim was hit by a car driven by a mother and her daughter as she was at a bus stop in El Rebolledo with her companion, according to police records. The accused motorist struck the victim in the leg after colliding into the bus stop and then turned around with the intention of striking her once more. After she finally pulled over, the mother and daughter used a knife and scissors to attack the wounded woman.

When receiving an 091 call, the National Police promptly responded and took the two attackers into custody when the victim’s boyfriend stepped in to stop additional beatings.

After arriving at the site, a Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulance treated the injured individual and transported her to a hospital, where she received treatment for cuts and bruises to several body regions; stitches were not required.

After that, forensic and judicial police officers showed up at the scene. They discovered the knife and scissors used in the assault when they were inspecting the detainee’s vehicle.