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

[SummitRN]

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.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

paisling said:

In the video you can hear her on the phone with her supervisor - he backs her up verbally and then tells the police officer that he shouldn't threaten a nurse, which is when the police officer totally freaks out.

Not sure why no one else stepped in (physically). Perhaps they were worried about potentially escalated the situation further?

I thought I heard the the same thing on the video. I saw the guy on the phone approaching behind Alex, and then he abruptly turns and walks away. I wonder if that's who she was on the phone with. There's plenty of video evidence that Alex was calm, that she was reading the policy to the officer who arrested her.

I'd hate to be those officers if they're ever brought to that ER in need of help!

[nmnnurse]

[

Also, sometimes police are blamed for the deaths of people they are pursuing (if they weren't running from the police, they wouldn't have gotten killed, therefore it is the police's fault). The police may be trying to mitigate a potential lawsuit by showing the innocent trucker had a blood alcohol level. Which doesn't make this any less egregious. According to my BF, this is still a false arrest and the police need to be prosecuted for it. I won't use his exact words - TOS.

There have been plenty of shootings in recent years where nobody is running from police such as behavior therapist Charles Kinsey.

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

TriciaJ said:

This is of course, egregious. However, if being arrested I would not scream and fight with the police. No one stepped up to "help" her because it would be of no help. She would be guilty of resisting arrest (still a crime even if it is a false arrest) and others would be guilty of assaulting a police officer or obstructing justice (even if it isn't very just).

The most prudent thing is to cooperate with the arrest at the time. Then hire a lawyer. Sue the hell out of whomever needs to be sued. That's where her hospital should back her. They should make their legal team available to her. They should express their outrage to the media.

If this is one rogue cop, he needs to be seriously disciplined and made an example of. If the entire police force is badly run so that this sort of thing proliferates, then it's time to fire the chief, repeal the sheriff, or whatever needs to be done to clean up from the top down.

They better not even think about making her use her sick time or PTO to recuperate from this "rape" by this evil B.

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

nmnnurse said:

Also, sometimes police are blamed for the deaths of people they are pursuing (if they weren't running from the police, they wouldn't have gotten killed, therefore it is the police's fault). The police may be trying to mitigate a potential lawsuit by showing the innocent trucker had a blood alcohol level. Which doesn't make this any less egregious. According to my BF, this is still a false arrest and the police need to be prosecuted for it. I won't use his exact words - TOS.

There have been plenty of shootings in recent years where nobody is running from police such as behavior therapist Charles Kinsey.

And often enough innocent people are killed, maimed because of high speed chases. Cops should not be pursuing these miserable excuses for human beings at high speeds.

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

paisling said:

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.

What do you think they should have done?

[operations]

That police officer assaulted her terribly, look at her she's afraid for her life! What if he went crazy and pulled out a gun or beat her or something? Our security can't intervene?? That's insane! There was obviously a cover up being attempted that he panicked and assaulted her over. How can we protect ourselves from the police as things like this happens?

And he didn't even get discharged from his job, *****!

[rzyzzy]

Kooky Korky said:

What do you think they should have done?

The campus cop was on video as the hothead was doing the arrest saying "this isn't going to stick" - I.E., "you're breaking the law".

Good people need to stand up when they see wrong being done.

They teach us these kinds of things in nursing school.. I.e. You see a nurse giving 50 units of insulin instead of the 5 that is ordered. Do you watch? Do you grab the needle if necessary? Or do you wait until the video is on the today show, a month after the fact - to give a halfhearted apology?

[operations]

The woman was being assaulted. Security should have restrained the cop, but I know they didn't know what to do. I would have called another police department immediately to help intervene because he was not being a cop he was being a criminal threat. It was an illegal arrest and the lawyer was even on the phone and knew it! Hopefully this will be make new things be in place so that you can protect yourself from awol cops and others in the ER

U should be ashamed for telling that woman to shut up and take it, she was clearly afraid for her life and didn't know what to do, I'm sure the cop looked like he was gonna kill her... Shame on you how are you a nurse with that kind of "empathy"

If you see a cop being suspicious or illegally arresting your pt it could be your job to do that. Think of it that way. I've seen cops try to take away pts that weren't healthy enough to leave! You have to do what you can to protect your pt. That may mean calling a different department (like county, or your local, any different depot) and reporting the activity as suspicious, or dangerous and then the two departments can figure out what to do and you have protection. Like someone said we have to think like this all the time as nurses no excuse not to apply that to this situation! Poor woman.

[guest52816]

This is from the Washington Post. It comes from the AP. Perhaps justice will be served.

SALT LAKE CITY — The Latest on a nurse in Utah who was handcuffed by police over a blood draw (all times local):

3:45 p.m.

A Utah prosecutor says he's asked for a criminal investigation into a police officer who dragged a nurse from a hospital and arrested her for refusing to allow blood to be drawn from an unconscious patient.

Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said Friday that he was concerned when he saw police body-camera footage of the officer arresting nurse Alex Wubbels in July.

Gill says he called Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown to request the investigation and that the chief agreed.

Gill says Brown will choose an outside police agency to investigate. He declined to say what charges the officer could face.

[rzyzzy]

Well.. that's about a month late.

How many people did officer Payne rough up during that month before his actions were televised?

[operations]

Like I said, cops are ppl too and can get dangerous every now and then like everyone else... DO NOT LET YOURSELF OR ANYONE BE A VICTIM. Call another department and protect yourself (or pt) You have the right to protect yourself, and responsibility to protect your pt. The whole video looked like the cop was having an act of aggressive rage guised as an "arrest". This woman could have lost her life, and the pt could have lost his if he required her to be there!

[Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN]

When I first heard about this (through Facebook, naturally) I thought either it was grossly exaggerated or there was much more to the story - it seemed so very sensational.

I realize now, nope, it's exactly what happened. This is nuts. Abhorrent. Disgusting. And I'm one who tends to back the blue. I even have a thin blue line on the back of my car.

As others have said, this is a reason why people don't see police officers as people who want to help, but as the enemy.