A Brooklyn prosecutor accused of punching and choking an emergency medical technician in a drunken rage has pleaded guilty to lesser charges and will avoid prison time.
Assistant District Attorney Michael Jaccarino of the Kings County District Attorney's Office pleaded guilty to reckless assault, a misdemeanor, on Wednesday.
A judge sentenced him to 10 days of community service. He will also undergo six months of alcohol treatment.
Back in November, Jaccarino, 30, had wandered into traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge after a night of heavy drinking, prosecutors said.
Medics responded and put him in the back on an ambulance. That is when Jaccarino attacked EMT Teresa Soler, punching her in the face and then squeezing her neck, prosecutors said.
Soler's partner and a passerby pulled Jaccarino off Soler and stopped the attack.
"I have no memory of that night, of being on the Brooklyn Bridge, of being in the ambulance," Jaccarino said in court Wednesday. "That being said, I have no problem accepting responsibility. I feel absolutely horrible, devastated by what happened. The only thing I can do is apologize."
Outside the courthouse after the sentencing, Soler said that she was disappointed by the outcome of the case.
"I know my colleages feel as I feel, that this verdict, this sentence, was a proverbial slap to him [Jaccarino] on the wrist and it was a slap to us on the face," she said. "Every day we go into harm's way, and nothing ever comes out of it."
Soler told the Daily News ahead of the sentencing that she works every shift in fear of being attacked again.
The Brooklyn D.A.'s office suspended Jaccarino without pay immediately after his arrest.
Wednesday, May 22 2013 12:27 PM EDT2013-05-22 16:27:26 GMT
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Michael Jaccarino
