Utah nurse arrested for following protocol and not allowing a police officer to take blood from an unconscious patient. Update!

(That is a very troubling video to watch.)

Courtesy of the Salt Lake Tribune: 

A nurse says she was assaulted and illegally arrested by a Salt Lake City police detective for following a hospital policy that does not allow blood draws from unconscious patients. 

Footage from University Hospital and officer body cameras shows Detective Jeff Payne and nurse Alex Wubbels in a standoff over whether the policeman should be allowed to get a blood sample from a patient who had been injured in a July 26 collision in northern Utah that left another driver dead. 

Wubbels says blood cannot be taken from an unconscious patient unless the patient is under arrest, unless there is a warrant allowing the draw or unless the patient consents. The detective acknowledges in the footage that none of those requirements is in place, but he insists that he has the authority to obtain the draw, according to the footage. 

At one point, Payne threatens to take Wubbels to jail if he doesn’t get the sample, and he accuses her of interfering with a criminal case. 

“I either go away with blood in vials or body in tow,” Payne says. 

After Wubbels consults with several hospital officials and repeats the policy, Payne tells her she is under arrest and grabs her, pulling her arms behind her back and handcuffing her. The footage shows the detective dragging Wubbels out of the hospital and putting her inside a patrol car as she screams, “Help! Help! Somebody help me! Stop! Stop! I did nothing wrong!”

This nurse is extremely professional in how she interacts with the police, and even has her supervisor backing her up on the phone, and still this asshole manhandles her and treats like a common criminal.

That is a man who became a cop, not to help people, but to use the uniform and the authority it represents to bully people into submission.

It should be noted that the nurse never said no to the officer and instead was simply relating to him the hospital restrictions on what she could do to comply with his request when he arrested her.

Heavy.com relates that the officer, Jeff Payne, has NOT been fired and remains on active duty, though there is an internal investigation.

There are also reports of other officers in the area harassing medical staff in hospitals and this seems like a fairly widespread problem in Utah.

No lawsuits pending as of yet, but I think the hospital and this nurse have a very strong case for one.

Personally I hope that the hospital gives this woman a commendation for doing her job in the face of such a terrifying situation, and perhaps a nice raise would not be out of the question as well.

Update: The two officers have been placed on leave.