Posted on June 23, 2022

VA ‘Patient Advocate’ Captured on Video Body-Slamming Vietnam Vet Still Has His Job

Max Hauptman, Task and Purpose, June 21, 2022

A Department of Veteran Affairs patient advocate who was recorded on a security camera assaulting a veteran patient still has his job.

Video of the encounter, released by WSB-TV, shows Phillip Webb, a 73-year-old Vietnam veteran, being choked, body-slammed, and thrown to the ground at the Department of Veterans Affairs Clinic at Fort McPherson. The assault took place on April 28, 2022.

Lawrence F. Gaillard Jr., a patient advocate at the clinic, was arrested that day and charged with felony assault.

In the video, Webb can be seen in a waiting room. After Gaillard points his finger in Webb’s face, he grabs Webb and throws him against a wall, choking him with both hands. He then throws Webb to the ground and repeatedly kicks him in the head before leaving the room.

The initial charging document from the U.S. Attorney’s office in the northern district of Georgia notes that Webb was initially treated by a doctor at the clinic who observed several injuries including a large hematoma over his right eyebrow and a contusion on his elbow. Webb was later hospitalized for three days with a “brain bleed,” according to WSB-TV.

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