By Rebecca Henely
As family and friends laid to rest EMT worker Jason Green, a 32-year-old Ravenswood resident who was shot and killed in front of a Manhattan nightclub, some friends took the time out to defend him Monday from the scandal that had plagued Green for the last eight months.
“He was a good kid,” said former Queensbridge resident Richard Hampton, 34. “He had a future and it is sad to see that he was gunned down on the streets.”
On Dec. 9, Green and another EMT worker, 23-year-old Melisa Jackson, went to an Au Bon Pain eatery in downtown Brooklyn while off duty. While there, 25-year-old Eutisha Revee Rennix suffered an asthma attack and the two EMTs allegedly refused to help her.
She and her unborn child both died at Long Island College Hospital later that day. Green and Jackson were suspended for 30 days without pay and later returned to work behind desks. The incident remains under investigation, although Green and Jackson maintained they were innocent.
Dupreme Fishburne, a 28-year-old resident of Ravenswood, said Green told him reports that he refused to help were inaccurate. He said Green had worked for five years on desk duty.
“He didn’t have the training to help,” Fishburne said.
He said about 300 to 400 people came to the viewing and funeral at the Thomas M. Quinn & Sons Funeral Home Monday in Astoria.
“If he was a foul person, no one would be here,” Fishburne said.
Police said Green’s death July 18 had nothing to do with the incident at the Au Bon Pain.
After Green and a friend had been turned away from the Greenhouse, a nightclub on Varick Street in Manhattan, Green became embroiled in an argument with an unidentified man, the New York Post reported. The fight later moved across the street, where two other men attacked Green, the paper said. Green fought off the three men before a fourth man entered the scene and shot Green, the Post said.
“I was stunned,” said Cory Simpson, 28, a friend of Green’s who grew up with him in Ravenswood, about hearing the news of Green’s death. “I didn’t even know he was the EMT.”
Simpson said he lived next door to Green while growing up, and that they often shared the same baby-sitter. He described Green as a “cool guy” who everybody liked.
“Karma is karma, but we still don’t know what happened and it’s still messed up,” Simpson said.
Fishburne said Green’s family is taking his death “very hard.” He leaves behind multiple goddaughters, who are upset.
“We feel a little relief that everyone came out to show [Green’s family] support,” Fishburne said.
As of press time Tuesday, there were no arrests in the slaying.
“[The police] need to go hard to find out who the killer is,” Fishburne said, suggesting a reward for more information be offered. “This is not fair.”
Photo editor Christina Santucci contributed reporting for this article.
Reach reporter Rebecca Henely by e-mail at rhenely@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.
