Video RN screaming, dragged into police car d/t refused blood draw on unconscious patient!

Nurses General Nursing

Updated:   Published

July 31 2017, guy fleeing police crosses median and slams into truck and dies. The truck catches fire severely burning the innocent driver, Mr. Gray, who was taken to SLC University. Police later showed up demanding to the UNCONSCIOUS innocent patient's blood. RN Alex shows them the policy requiring consent, arrest, or a warrant. Hospital administration back up RN Alex.

Police aggressively arrest RN Alex and removes her from the hospital. Officer body cam insanity released today:

NEWSPAPER ARTICLE:

Video shows Utah nurse screaming, being dragged into police car after refusing to let officer take blood from unconscious victim - The Salt Lake Tribune

Long video body cam:

In this video, the aggressive officer can be heard saying that he will ensure all the "transients" are brought to this hospitals ED since they won't cooperate after being told the administrators and privacy officer are on their way.

Original Crash (graphic):

Interesting note about Alex, she was a 2x Olympian, US Ski Team member, and national champion is Slalom and GS.

Specializes in ER, ICU.

Police wanted to collect a blood sample from a trauma patient. The nurse, knowing that hospital policy required a warrant to hand over blood samples, refused. She was arrested (but no charges were filed). She was correct in that the collection of forensic evidence requires a warrant by police. Good job!!

1
Up Vote Up Vote ×

There's a long thread about this already! Check it out. :up:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Hospitalist Medicine.

OMG, I'm absolutely outraged! I normally stick up for our men in blue, but these officers were clearly in the wrong. They were more worried about a potential lawsuit from this innocent man getting injured because of their high speed chase than obtaining a blood sample in the LEGAL way. They had no right to arrest her (even if they claim she was just "detained"). I hope she sues them for every dime she can get. It's cops like these that give the good ones a bad name :mad:

2
Up Vote Up Vote ×

I saw the video. She did nothing wrong. She should sue for the unprofessional way she was treated in front of all her coworkers.

1
Up Vote Up Vote ×
SopranoKris said:
OMG, I'm absolutely outraged! I normally stick up for our men in blue, but these officers were clearly in the wrong. They were more worried about a potential lawsuit from this innocent man getting injured because of their high speed chase than obtaining a blood sample in the LEGAL way. They had no right to arrest her (even if they claim she was just "detained"). I hope she sues them for every dime she can get. It's cops like these that give the good ones a bad name :mad:

It's going to be hard to say she was "only detained " when the officer clearly stated multiple times to multiple people that she was being arrested. It's also going to be hard to claim ignorance of the law in the supervisors case, because when he was talking to her afterwards he stated he knew the law, had been a cop for 22 years, etc. he also clearly explains that he knows what a warrant is and how to get one. An unconscious patient isn't going anywhere.. get your warrant & get your blood.. unless you can't get a warrant..

Both of these officers knowingly stepped over the line. I think a kidnapping charge is quite appropriate.

2
Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Peds, education.

I am beyond angry at this whole thing. I respect the police, but how dare they treat a nurse like that? I hope she does sue the police department. He should have at least been put on leave while the investigation is on-going. You cannot arrest or detain people just because you don't like the policy. If you want the blood get a warrant, can't get a warrant, not the nurse's problem. I am also disappointed in the hospital/ university police for not stepping in.

1
Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ICU.

Angry? Me too. File a complaint with the SLC PD here:

SLCPD Complaints Form

1
Up Vote Up Vote ×
paisling said:
Not sure why no one else stepped in (physically). Perhaps they were worried about potentially escalated the situation further?

I would never physically interfere in a situation where a law enforcement officer is placing someone under arrest. Ever. If I thought that the police officer was doing something wrong I would observe and document what took place, and file charges and testify in court afterwards if it came to that.

Trying to physically stop a police officer from making the arrest has too many risks attached. For one thing, you yourself could be ignorant of the law or perhaps you haven't witnessed the events that resulted in the currect altercation (ie not being aware of all the pertinent facts). What you witnessed could have actually been acceptable for the police officer to do. Police officers are allowed to use force under certain circumstances and members of the public aren't always able to correctly judge/assess situations/violent incidents. I know that from experience. Or even if the police officer is later found to have been wrong, it's is possible you could still be guilty of a crime yourself if you tried to step in. You could get seriously injured or you could start a situation that escalates out of control and causes other, additional innocent bystanders to be hurt.

About this case...

This is crazy,' sobs Utah hospital nurse as cop roughs her up, arrests her for doing her job - The Washington Post

According to the article the reason the police officer wanted to draw the patient's blood was to protect the trucker (the patient), who was not suspected of a crime. Well, color me sceptical... That police officer must have been very motivated to protect the driver considering how far he actually escalated this thing...

The truck driver/patient was injured in a accident where a suspect in a pickup truck was fleeing from the police, and the fleeing suspect hit the trucker/patient head-on.

I am not familiar with U.S. laws and police regulations, but I know that in my neck of the woods, police high-speed pursuits are subject to many rules. The concept of proportionality definitely comes into play.

Chasing a suspect at high speed can be/is dangerous and it places other innocent people at risk. When you pursue a suspect with lights and sirens that obviously creates a lot of stress for the person trying to evade arrest. They normally don't give a darn if they hurt someone else, they just want to get away. They can be drunk or under the influence of narcotics and lousy drivers. They might even commit suicide with the help of another vehicle (deliberate crash) when they realize that they can't get away.

The prudent police officers who pursues a suspect, should always consider whether the situation they create poses a larger threat to innocent members of the public, than the suspect would if you'd just let him go (for now). No cop I've ever known, likes to let the suspect get away. With adrenaline squiring out your nostrils you just want to catch the ******, but sometimes it is the safest thing to do and when you get that order over the radio, you stand down. It makes no sense arresting someone for a relatively minor offense if a consequence of making the arrest, is getting people seriously hurt. Cost versus benefit. Proportionality.

I don't know enough details of this case to have a legitimate opinion about it.

I can only speak in general and hypothetical terms. Generally speaking, if I'd been involved in a high speed pursuit involving fatalities and/or serious injuries, my hypothetical boss would probably be happier if the innocent people who got injured were under the influence of something or other. That might make my hypothetical police force a bit less liable.

While I have no idea what exactly motivated the police officer to be so determined about getting a blood sample, I can say that from what I've seen and understand your laws, placing that nurse under arrest doesn't appear to have any legal basis whatsoever. He seemed to have a lot of emotions invested in the situation(seldom a good thing). It was strange. The nurse was super cool and professional (as well as legally correct), and the police officer wasn't. Frankly, I think his behavior was an embarrassment.

If something similar ever happened to me, I would be filing criminal charges for false/wrongful arrest.

2
Up Vote Up Vote ×
macawake said:
I would never physically interfere in a situation where a law enforcement officer is placing someone under arrest. Ever. If I thought that the police officer was doing something wrong I would observe and document what took place, and file charges and testify in court afterwards if it came to that.

I should have clarified - I didn't mean physically interfere with the arrest. I was answering someone else's question re: supervisor stepping in and my answer was that you can hear the supervisor on the phone but I don't know why no one physically present didn't do something.

1
Up Vote Up Vote ×

Going out on a LIMB here but for the officer to REALLY REALLY REALLY want and demand a blood sample from this patient by ANY MEANS NECESSARY, I wonder what the arrest was about...

**did he arrest someone who really did not commit a crime?

**did he arrest someone who should not have been arrested and now he is trying to ""make good/cover up"" his arrest so he can have evidence stating that this patient was under the influence of drugs and alcohol etc etc.....

What really gets me is that on any given day we as nurses and health care professionals are confronted with patients that have all kinds of diseases,

Hep C, HIV, AIDS, TB, and we put our lives on the risk every day when we clock in.

We deal with patients that have thrown urine, blood, spit, feces, or move/sneeze on purpose when starting an IV etc etc etc

.... and NEVER .....not NEVER have I seen a NURSE HIT a patient, more less shoot a patient because we FEARED FOR OUR LIVES, or became scared all of a sudden.

Nurses deal with very similar situations just like police officers.

How many times have you had to restrain a patient by yourself, or with the help of others in a immediate setting?

How many times have you had to break up a fight between family members in the ER, ICU when a patient has dies all of a sudden.

We deal with the same situations and we deal with it on another level called using our Noggins..... We think 1st, act later 99.9999% of the time.

So when officers say they feared for their lives, and shot someone 50 times, or it took 50 officers to restrain 1 person, nurses do the same thing, and NO ONE DIES !!!!!

1
Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in LTC, Rehab.

I kinda feel like the whole world is going crazy, but on just this topic, I have to say that I'm nearly 60 and only lately do I feel like I can't believe what *some* cops are doing these days. Yes, what some people are doing TO cops sometimes these days is crazy too. It's all crazy...

2
Up Vote Up Vote ×
LacyRNPrez said:
Going out on a LIMB here but for the officer to REALLY REALLY REALLY want and demand a blood sample from this patient by ANY MEANS NECESSARY, I wonder what the arrest was about...

**did he arrest someone who really did not commit a crime?

**did he arrest someone who should not have been arrested and now he is trying to ""make good/cover up"" his arrest so he can have evidence stating that this patient was under the influence of drugs and alcohol etc etc.....

The articles I've seen have all stated that the unconscious individual was not under arrest; if he had been, that would have been a legitimate reason, per the hospital's policy, to allow the officer to draw the blood.

2
Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment