nurse finds intruder

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Sep 9, 2006

she also outweighed the guy by about 50 or 60 pounds according to the news account that i heard. she was an er nurse. at first my thoughts were that she must have had a bad night in the er. but more seriously, this is not good publicity for nursing and the media is going to eat it up. nurses are supposed to be supporters of life, not takers of it. i sincerely hope this nurse has very good reason to justify why she choked the life out of someone rather than just left him incapacitated. i am wondering if the district attorney or grand jury where she lives is going to feel that as a licensed nurse who works in the er she should be held to a higher standard regarding this incident. if that happens, i won't be surprised to hear charges of manslaughter or some other type of negligent death charges filed against her. she may also be in trouble with her employer as well. this is a very sad situation for all involved.

moonischasingme1 · Sep 9, 2006

I think if someone is in your house then you have the right to harm them...lol

Boltthrower · Sep 9, 2006

That is priceless. As for criminal prosecution for the RN, I dont know the details of the case, but here in MI the intruder, since armed (even with a hammer) committed 1st degree home invasion which is punishable by life in prison. In MI you have a "duty to flee" when possible if confronted with a dangerous situation, EXCEPT when it happens "within the curtilage of your residence". If someone is in your house you have no duty to flee and all bets are off when protecting your property or family. Not to mention that if most of you came home to find someone in your house and he attacked you with a hammer THE LAW BE DAMNED once that survival instinct kicks in and the adrenaline (*sp) flows freely. I dont think anyone in that situation would think "well, I am a nurse and I am supposed to preserve life and not take it, so I will choke this bastard out only to the point where he will be a vegetable and then call the police once that is done".

Now, I realize the law regarding home protection in OR might read more like, "when faced with a dangerous situation, ESPECIALLY in your own home, you should respect the intruder's right to do as he pleases and perhaps offer to give him a hand loading your possessions and perhaps even your firstborn child into his van. If you have a weapon in your home you are required to tell the intruder where it is and ask if he would like to take it for future use on other residents...... etc...." you get the point, heh heh.

Of course this nurse will undoubtedly feel great remorse and sadness for having taken a life, as do police officers or others who might be called upon to do so through no choice of their own. She did not ask to have this man in her house and to say that what she did was wrong is to be completely out of touch with reality regarding situations where you are fighting for your life. It isnt like the movies.

Bolt

suebird3 · Sep 9, 2006

here is the thread link: nurse strangles intruder with bare hands

suebird

Boltthrower · Sep 9, 2006

Thanks for the link. I didnt know it was so old, I havent checked here in a while.

Bolt

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Sep 9, 2006

the problem that i found was in the news stories that are linked to in the thread that suebird just gave above. both articles quote this nurses' neighbor as saying that she was calm and not very shaken up after this incident. if this neighbor made those same statements to the police, i think it will come back to hurt this nurse legally. i would be shaking, upset and crying my eyes out after something like this had just happened in my own home. and, i think that is how most people would expect someone to react. that's not the picture the neighbor seemed to have painted. as this er nurse i would be very concerned that the grand jury or the district attorney might want to consider her professional background and education and will wonder themselves if she was acting like a homeowner or as a cool, calm collected nurse. as i stated when i made a post to the "nurse strangles intruder with bare hands" thread, you don't kill when you are thinking clearly and calmly. at least, you're not supposed to in our society. of course, we don't know all the facts and the autopsy is going to reveal a lot as well. i can see this getting to be a very messy legal mess which is why the press is all over the story. can you not see the family of the killed intruder filing a lawsuit against this nurse? i'm not sure they would lose if they were able to bring in evidence like the statements made by her neighbor. no matter how this turns out, it is not good publicity for the nursing profession as a whole.

Boltthrower · Sep 9, 2006

I agree it is a bad situation all the way around and it is a shame that this nurse will have to live with the fact that she killed a person with her own hands. That being said, just because she was calm and collected right after the incident does not mean anything. If you take 100 people and put them in the same stressful situation you will get 100 different reactions and different ways of dealing with things after the fact. I would imagine her being an ER nurse plays a huge part in her calm appearance after something like that. I have never worked in the ER before, but I imagine that if you FREAK OUT every time you are under stress that you wont last very long there. Her mind might have been conditioned to detach itself from feelings when she is under extreme circumstances, and to remain detached for ....... who knows..... 14 hours post-incident, or more. If she was just getting off work I bet her mind was still in ER mode and after, what did it say?, 30 years of that I imagine she has a pretty high tolerance for stress.

I agree that the family of the "victim" for lack of a better word, will probably sue her for wrongful death if they have the financial means. That is a loop hole within the system that is a sad reality. I do, however, only looking at the media rendition of this case, think that she was well within her rights of self preservation. It is not her fault that the guy was unable to defend himself after he attacked her in her own home.

I also dont think that it gives nurses a bad name in the least bit. She was attacked and she was able to overcome the enemy, after working a 12,24 whatever hour shift and maintain her calm demeanor. I dont think that the media is out to get nurses. The public perception of the RN is quite a good one, and rightfully so. The media, and I think they know this, would regret trying to defame this nurse or the profession because of something that appears to be as clear cut as this situation. That would be a bad move. Not that the media is immune from making bad moves..... heavens knows..... but in this particular case I dont think they will turn it into a circus. The chances are that she would be and is regarded as a hero more than as a criminal. It is impossible to judge her or her actions without being in her shoes. You might react in a similar way, who knows, unless you were put in that situation you have no business second guessing her.

Bolt

AggieNurse99, BSN, RN · Sep 11, 2006

One of the (only) positives about Texas, you have the right to use deadly force to defend yourself or your property. A cop told me to make sure an intruder was within my property lines if ever I had to do so.

LoriAlabamaRN · Sep 11, 2006

If someone breaks into my house, I will shoot them to death.

stellasmommy · Sep 11, 2006

Here in Texas it all comes down to one little sentence "I was in fear for my life". Enough said.

mom2cka · Sep 16, 2006

Follow up based on a yahoo news story today: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060916/ap_on_re_us/intruder_killed_4