Joe was a respiratory therapist in a nursing home. He controlled the ventilation equipment that kept some of his patients breathing. One day, to show the importance of his job to his girlfriend, Joe, without permission or warning, completely cut off the ventilator support to a severely ill patient. Within a few moments, the patient began to gasp for air and nearly lost consciousness before a nurse ordered Joe to restore the ventilator’s function.

Did Joe violate civil law or criminal law or both?