Utah officer who arrested nurse over blood test put on leave

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah nurse said she was scared to death when a police officer handcuffed and dragged her screaming from a hospital after she refused to allow blood to be drawn from an unconscious patient.

After Alex Wubbels and her attorneys released dramatic video of the arrest, prosecutors called for a criminal investigation and Salt Lake City police put Detective Jeff Payne on paid leave Friday. "This cop bullied me. He bullied me to the utmost extreme," Wubbels said in an interview with The Associated Press. "And nobody stood in his way."

The Salt Lake City police chief and mayor also apologized and changed department policies in line with the guidance Wubbels was following in the July 26 incident. Wubbels, a former alpine skier who competed in the 1998 and 2002 Winter Olympics, said she adhered to her training and hospital protocols to protect the rights of a patient who could not speak for himself.

"You can't just take blood if you don't have a legitimate concern for something to be tested," Wubbels said. "It is the most personal property I think that we can have besides our skin and bones and organs."

Payne didn't return messages left at publicly listed phone numbers, and the Salt Lake Police Association union did not respond to messages for comment. The department and a civilian board also are conducting reviews.
"I was alarmed by what I saw in the video with our officer," Police Chief Mike Brown said. Police body-camera video shows Wubbels, who works in the burn unit, calmly explaining that she could not take blood from a patient who had been injured in a deadly car accident, citing a recent change in law. A 2016 U.S. Supreme Court ruling said a blood sample cannot be taken without patient consent or a warrant.

Wubbels told Payne that a patient had to allow a blood sample to determine intoxication or be under arrest. Otherwise, she said police needed a warrant. Police did not, but Payne insisted. The dispute ended with Payne saying, "We're done, you're under arrest" and pulling her outside while she screamed and said, "I've done nothing wrong!"
Payne wrote in a police report that he grabbed Wubbels and took her outside to avoid causing a "scene" in the emergency room. He said his boss, a lieutenant whose actions also were being reviewed, told him to arrest Wubbels if she kept interfering.

The detective left Wubbels in a hot police car for 20 minutes before realizing that blood had already been drawn as part of treatment, said her lawyer, Karra Porter. Wubbels was not charged. "This has upended her worldview in a way. She just couldn't believe this could happen," Porter said.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/latest-arrested-salt-lake-nurse-accepts-chiefs-apology-49572069

what that Cop did was beyond the Pale!

they suspended that dik...should have been fired...

exactly!

I think that officer thought it was still the Wild West and he had a badge so he could do whatever he wanted...

It's infuriating if you watch the videos and listen to the Incident. The mayor and police chef have oppologized for this but only once the media brought this to attention. Then they actually put him on paid leave to criminally investigate this rather than the simple step of "move him to another department and hope this blows over".

I am happy to see Alex, the nurse, do her job properly and stand up for her patients rights.

Pitiful of the cop. He gives all a bad name. Hope they bust him good

I hope the cop doesn't show up in her emergency room needing care. He may not receive the best of care. Just sayin

they will have a hard time to find a Vein in his arm!

This is where professionalism comes in. they'll treat everyone regardless, now, if I were a doctor /nurse I'm not sure I could treat someone who'd been injured after committing a despicable crime against another. Hats off to them

Don't know about other towns, but here, the cops take "special care" of
nurses. Cops know the nurses and nurses know them. No tickets, or stuff like that. Your right though, he would still get the best of care.

Not necessarily. I know many that treat people regardless of wrongs. Maybe in your country but not the people ( cops, EMTs, ER personal) that I know

There are a few things I find wrong with this.

If the patient is unconscious and blood needs to be drawn to determine intoxication, if a car accident with a fatality is involved, that blood-alcohol level will be vital to properly processing the case. The nurse was interfering with a police investigation. Obstructing an officer.

Anyone that resists arrest by throwing a temper tantrum should be removed from the vicinity, in handcuffs if need be.

In a fatal accident investigation it is vital to get all the pertinent data related to the accident. The intoxicated patient involved in the accident needs a blood-test to prove their condition at the time. In a court of law if you tell the judge presiding over your families wrongful death case that an intoxication level test could not be made until the patient woke and gave permission to have the test done after two days of being unconscious the judge will laugh the evidence out of court.

A cop doesn't know when that person will wake to give permission or even if that person will wake. All he knows is there was a fatal accident and one of the people from that accident may be intoxicated to the point they may have caused said accident.

So how do you feel about the nurse that prevents blood from being drawn from the person that was involved in the accident that killed your son or daughter?

The civilized way to handle this would have been for the nurse to lodge her protest and step aside. Then she could protest the action of the police by legal methods. She assumed authority over someone else's personal rights and interfered with force. She should go to jail.

She followed the criteria as determined by law
a.. Police have a warrant for the blood
b.. The patient is under arrest
c.. The patient is conscious and gives consent

"She tells Payne that the patient is required to be conscious to give consent, unless the patient is under arrest or if officers had a warrant, and that "the parameters are spelled out in an agreement between the hospital and the department."

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/second-officer-placed-on-leave-over-utah-nurse-arrest-video/

None of these criteria were met. The patient was a reserve police officer and the blood was wanted to clear him of anything.

"The Salt Lake Tribune reports the patient was a reserve police officer from Idaho who was working his other job as a semi-truck driver when a car fleeing the Utah Highway Patrol crashed into him. The newspaper cites police reports saying Payne was trying to take the blood to clear him of any wrongdoing in the wreck."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/utah-nurse-arrested-police-1.4272677




The District Attorney's office is investigating to see if criminal charges can be applied to the officer. A second officer, a lieutenant, is also on paid leave and under investigation.

"Police said Friday a second officer was also placed on paid leave. That officer has not been formally identified, but officials have said they also were reviewing the conduct of Payne's boss, a lieutenant who reportedly called for the arrest if Wubbels kept interfering."

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/09/02/utah-cop-put-on-leave-after-bodycam-video-shows-him-cuffing-nurse-for-refusing-to-draw-blood-on-unconscious-patient.html

http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/second-utah-police-officer-on-paid-leave-over-nurse-arrest-1.3573195

She followed proper protocol. The officer didn't. The arrest was unwarranted, illegal and thus an assault. Being assaulted she was in her full rights to scream and resist.

Tom, the officer can get the blood, he just had to get a warrant to follow procedure... that's the issue here, following rules properly. Alex was making sure they were followed, and was arrested. And if you read and listen, why wasn't Alex's boss arrested as the one in charge???

Totally disgusting. The nurse was doing her job, protecting the patient. The cop needs to be fired.. plain and simple.

I saw the video.. disgusting!!!

Gotcha, thanx for clearing it all up for me.
I'm always wrong, haven't you figured that out yet?

Tom, I don't think it's about being wrong or right. I think it's about having all the information and learning and growing as a person. And I have read your posts, many are spot on and in depth.


On a side note, the patient was the victim in the crash and also a reserve police office in Idaho.

Thanx but I am cool - no worries
I didn't look into it and only scanned the OP.
It was the handcuffs and screaming that got me.
I have encountered people so stressed out anything can set them off on a tangent. Including stomping feet and screaming.

this should of been handle better