Nurse arrested for refusing to draw unconscious man's blood A Utah nurse screamed “help me” after a cop handcuffed her for refusing to draw blood on an unconscious patient July 26, police body camera footage showed.
The video showed University of Utah Hospital nurse Alex Wubbels, an Alpine skier who participated in the 1998 and 2002 Winter Olympic games, calmly explaining to Salt Lake Detective Jeff Payne that she could not draw blood from a patient who had been injured in a car accident, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.
Wubbels told Payne the patient was required to give consent for a blood sample or be under arrest. Otherwise, she said police needed a warrant. Payne threatened to imprison Wubbels if he was not given the blood sample, according to the video.
“I either go away with blood in vials or body in tow,” Payne is shown saying.
Wubbels, who was on the phone with her supervisor, explained the situation to the supervisor, who agreed with the nurse and reportedly told the cop, “sir, you’re making a huge mistake because you’re threatening a nurse.”
Disturbing video shows Utah nurse dragged away by cop for refusing to draw unconscious patient’s blood https://t.co/y6ZjfDHeyp pic.twitter.com/k3SrUsSjqh — Raw Story (@RawStory) September 1, 2017
Upon hearing that, Payne announced Wubbels was under arrest and physically moved her outside the hospital while she screamed.
Wubbels yelled, “Help! Stop! I did nothing wrong!” while being handcuffed.
Payne was attempting to get a blood sample from a patient who was burned after being involved in a head-on crash with a pick-up truck driver that was fleeing police, the Washington Post reported. The driver died in the incident.
Wubbels was not charged and police have started an internal investigation. Payne initially remained on duty although he was suspended from blood-draw duties. Later on Friday Utah police announced that he had been put on paid administrative leave.
Police Chief Mike Brown said in a statement that his department will comply with the investigation into Payne. Salt Lake County's Unified Police Department will run the criminal probe into Payne's actions. Brown and the mayor of Salt Lake City have apologized for the incident and changed their policies to mirror hospital protocols.
Christina Judd, a spokesperson for the Salt Lake City Police, said the department was alarmed by what they witnessed in the video.
Judd said the department was working to investigate what went wrong and is seeking to repair the “unfortunate rift” it has caused.
Wubbels said she had been told of other hospital employees being harassed by officers and this footage proved their claim. She has not pressed charges yet but would consider it if police did not change their ways.
“I can’t sit on this video and not attempt to speak out both to re-educate and inform,” Wubbels told The Salt Lake Tribune. Police departments “need to be having conversations about what is appropriate intervention.”
The hospital supported Wubbels actions and said it would consider pressing charges.
"University of Utah Health supports Nurse Wubbles and her decision to focus first and foremost on the care and well-being of her patient,” said Suzanne Winchester, the hospital's media relations manager. “She followed procedures and protocols in this matter and was acting in her patient’s best interest. We have worked with our law enforcement partners on this issue to ensure an appropriate process for moving forward.”
Poster Comment:
I was unclear if the cop was expecting the nurse or staff to make the blood draw and they were refusing, or if the cop wanted to draw it himself and the staff was preventing him from doing so.
This article clearly states the cop was expecting the staff to do it, in which case the nurse was arrested for refusing to do something the cop wanted.
It seems the nurse, so far, is being nice in not suing the cop & department. That's characteristic of a true public servant.
