The Herald identified Munro after finding he pleaded guilty last month at the Palmerston North District Court to repeatedly pushing the female ambulance officer. One shove was so hard she fell - at which point he told her he'd hunt her down and hurt her. He said a high dose of codeine for a head injury and two beers combined to put him in a dark mood.
Mr Flaus: "This 2-year-old sat in the truck [ambulance] with this mother and watched as his father was pinging off the walls."
To get the child to hospital, they "stood outside the door and baited him out, then shut the doors and left with the 2-year-old".
Long-time volunteer Grant Eames of Timaru says abuse and danger has increased in the 37 years he's been involved.
"What most volunteers get out of it is the satisfaction of helping somebody in need," he said.
"Some nights, though, "you're out there and getting abused thinking 'why the hell am I doing this'."
"Volunteers give what they can and some give an awful lot," said Mr Eames.
For New Zealand, though, it's a resource stretched too thin as demand grows. GPs won't take after hours calls and hospitals are trying to reduce emergency department admissions.
"The volunteer [ambulance officer] is the next best thing and some of them don't want to take the responsibility.
"We have large areas that are not covered and quite a number of shifts that are not covered."
