Cop arrests nurse over blood dispute
Utah nurse refused to allow blood sample to be drawn from unconscious patient
SALT LAKE CITY— A Utah police department is making changes after an officer dragged a screaming nurse out of a hospital in handcuffs when she refused to allow blood to be drawn from an unconscious patient.
Nurse Alex Wubbels followed hospital policy and advice from her bosses when she told Salt Lake City police Det. Jeff Payne on July 26 that he could not get the blood sample without a warrant or consent from the patient, said her lawyer, Karra Porter.
Police spokesperson Christina Judd said the agency started an internal investigation within hours of the encounter.
“We’re alarmed by what we saw in the video and take it very, very seriously,” Judd 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 2016 U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the matter.
Wubbels told Payne that a patient was required to give consent for a blood sample to determine intoxication or be under arrest. Otherwise, she said police needed a warrant.
Payne insisted and the dispute ended with him saying, “We’re done, you’re under arrest” and physically moving her outside while she screamed. The detective left Wubbels in a hot police car for 20 minutes before realizing that blood had already been drawn as part of treatment, her attorney said. She was not booked or charged.
“There’s a strong bond between fire, police and nurses because they all work together to help save lives, and this caused an unfortunate rift that we are hoping to repair immediately,” Judd said.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the patient was a reserve police officer from Idaho who was working 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 the patient of any wrongdoing in the wreck.