'Somebody Help Me!' Nurse Arrested After Refusing to Draw Blood

Time Magazine ^ | 9/1/2018 | AP

[varyouga]

(SALT LAKE CITY) — A Utah police officer's body camera video shows a hospital nurse being handcuffed after refusing to draw blood on an unconscious patient.

The video taken at University Hospital in Salt Lake City shows nurse Alex Wubbels calmly explaining to Salt Lake detective Jeff Payne that she couldn't draw blood on a patient who had been injured in a car accident. She told the officer a patient was required to give consent for a blood sample or be under arrest. Otherwise, she said police needed a warrant.

The dispute ended with Payne telling the nurse she was under arrest and physically moving her out of the hospital while she screamed.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports Wubbels was not charged. Police have started an internal investigation, but Payne remains on duty.

[Lazamataz]

Not only that, but the patient (victim) was an off duty police officer driving a semi truck (a second job). The officer at the ER was truly requesting the sample for the victim’s own protection, not to prosecute him.

Perhaps, but it is still illegal.

[Lazamataz]

I prefer to call them copsuckers.

[Lazamataz]

You’re claiming blood can only be taken from an unconscious person if they are under arrest?

One of three conditions must be true:

1. Patient consent.
2. A warrant.
3. Person is under arrest.

And since she had a hospital management person on the phone, no Charge Nurse need be involved.

[sport]

I know. I believe that you coined the term.

[Lazamataz]

I did.

[sport]

Actually, for one reason or the other, their numbers are declining. Also, they are put in a position of having to defend the indefensible, however, the taste of jackboot leather is so addictive to them, they can’t resist.

[Excellence]

@wretchardthecat has been posting articles on Twitter. I understand the situation now. I hope to see the results of the investigation.

[Republic_Venom]

Huh?

[sport]

After that one, if you are not a comedian, you missed your calling.

[Excellence]

Stuff like this is why I stick an old smart phone on my dash and record as I drive.

[Republic_Venom]

You are one huge d-bag! Piss on you and your kind.

[NoCmpromiz]

These types (meaning the supporters of the JBT’s) all spout a familiar mantra, but they all seem to have their individual style of interpreting reality.

After reading through the thread and parsing Mr/Mrs/Ms/whatever (wouldn’t want to assume gender) mode of tunnel-vision thought, selective interpretive reading/comprehending abilities, and pick and choose citing I am of the opinion that this one sure sounds like Alaska Wolf retreaded or the alternate persona (I’m sure you remember him). Maybe this is the AI version from that company in Cupertino (and thus the “i” in the name.)

Except so far he/she/it/whatever hasn’t gotten zotted twice in the same thread.. ;-)

[sarge83]

Yeah will go bad for police department. By this cops line of thinking they can order any citizen to do anything,for example, I think your neighbor is growing pot, I only have probably cause,no warrant, so you go walk in unannounced into their house and verify this for me or I take you to jail.

[af_vet_rr]

One more thing - if there was no express consent by the patient or a legit warrant, the blood draw would be inadmissible for investigative purposes anyway. Which makes me really wonder what in the wide world of sports was that guy thinking, trying to accomplish.

Which makes all of this even more shady. This was not some rookie cop - the guy had been around for years and made Detective. And for the detective to discuss in the parking lot about sneaking up there to get the sample....they wanted that sample badly.

Maybe other FReepers are right, and the cop was enraged that a lowly nurse would dare bring up the actual policies and laws he's supposed to follow. My nephew's fiancee (a nurse) mentioned that cops treat nurses/doctors like crap more often than people realize.

[af_vet_rr]

Then HE went nuts first. Actually, he was pretty damn irrational leading up to that. (”Crazy” takes many forms - if she’d experienced similar B4, she’d likely be scared to death.)

That nurse is damned lucky - watching the video and seeing his actions - she's lucky that there were other people around. This could have easily turned into "SHE'S RESISTING ME" or even worse "SHE WENT FOR MY GUN!" situation.

[af_vet_rr]

Actually, no. This nation needs to fix this stuff, even if it is relatively rare. And, do it in a way so taxpayers are not on the $$ hook, and bad cops are.

Several ways to attack this:

1. Punish "good" cops who do nothing when a bad cop goes crazy. There were two other police officers watching Detective Payne lose his mind, and they knew that Detective Payne was acting illegally, and they did nothing. They may have been "good cops", but by allowing a bad cop to terrorize a law-abiding citizen and who was trying to violate and innocent and unconscious victim, they became bad cops.

The police are supposed to "serve and protect" we citizens who pay their salaries and benefits. That includes protecting us (and unconscious victims) from the bad cops.

2. Do something about the police unions. The unions exert way too much influence on various politicians at the local and state levels to protect the cops, even when they act in a manner contrary to what a "good cop" should do. The unions protect the bad cops even when everybody involved from the unions to the mayor and police chief to the media and the public realize the officer was in the wrong.

I can't take people seriously when they talk about "good cops" who belong to unions who will defend the bad cops as far as they can. A "good cop" who is a dues-paying member of an organization that will protect bad cops is a "bad cop" by proxy.

3. Stop putting the taxpayer on the hook when bad cops act like bad cops. Start hitting those bad cops' pensions, and you'll see a whole lot of cops straighten up. As a private citizen, if one of my businesses or I screws up and negatively impacts one of my customers, I and/or my businesses are on the hook financially. As an officer in the US Air Force, if I had screwed up, I could have had my career destroyed, and my future employment outside of the military would be very questionable or doubtful.

4. Don't let "bad cops" screw up, and then let them go work elsewhere. When a "bad cop" does his or her thing, that should be it. Again, as an officer in the USAF, had I screwed up, I couldn't just hop over to the Army or Navy and be right back on duty. Hell, the Navy has made it a pastime to destroy the careers of its officers who come into work drunk, commit adultery, or lose control of their command. But bad cops? They can go work elsewhere.

5. Stop militarizing cops. And I still can't believe Trump would turn the spigots back on. When you start giving cops military gear, their mindset changes.

[af_vet_rr]

Rhetorical question...This happened over a month ago. Only now the Chief of Police and Mayor are outraged?

Look at the cop who was just fired for an incident 15 or 16 months ago where he told a white woman to relax, they only shoot black people. He may (or may not) have been joking, but he was not fired instantly, he was fired after the video went public.

[af_vet_rr]

She read off a document that the police department agreed to, and the police failed to meet any of the standards.

< So Officer RespectMahAuthoritah simply arrests her.

The lawsuit will be delicious and quite large.

The lawsuit will be quite painful to the taxpayers.

[Tammy8]

The nurse arrested was the charge nurse on duty according to this article:

“Wubbels was working her shift as a charge nurse, or a liaison between patients and doctors and hospital managers, at University Hospital’s Burn Unit when she was handcuffed in the middle of her work area, pulled outside and put into a police patrol car for about 20 minutes.”

http://www.ketv.com/article/this-is-crazy-nurse-arrested-for-doing-her-job/12156948

[Tammy8]

The nurse he arrested was the charge nurse. She had her supervisor on speaker phone. When her supervisor told the LEO he could not draw or have blood drawn because he did not meet conditions- that is when he lost it and arrested the nurse. The person you hear on the video saying to the officer “Sir you are making a huge mistake...”- that is the supervisor on speaker phone.

http://www.ketv.com/article/this-is-crazy-nurse-arrested-for-doing-her-job/12156948