A nurse at a Utah hospital said she was assaulted by a police officer after refusing to give him a sample of an unconscious patient's blood. At a press conference nurse Alex Wubbels showed videos of the incident from police officers' body cameras. They showed her being arrested at the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City. She had declined to give the blood sample because the officer did not have a warrant or the patient's consent. The footage, which was filmed on July 26, showed the nurse in blue medical scrubs consulting with colleagues for several minutes. She then presented waiting police officers with a printout of the hospital's policy on sharing blood samples to test for alcohol or drugs. She told the officer they would need a warrant, the patient's consent, or the patient would need to be under arrest. The nurse said: "I'm just trying to do what I'm supposed to do, that's all." One officer, identified in media reports as detective Jeff Payne, becomes angered and grabs at Wubbels. "We're done," Payne says. "You're under arrest." Payne then drags Wubbels outside as she screams. "Somebody help me!" she says as Payne handcuffs her hands behind her. "You're assaulting me! Stop! I've done nothing wrong." The patient was a truck driver who arrived comatose at the hospital after being badly burned in a crash with a vehicle being driven by someone fleeing police, the Deseret News reported. Karra Porter, Wubbels' lawyer, said that the nurse followed the law and the police were wrong. Brandon Shearer, a sergeant at the police department, told KUTV News that Payne had been suspended from collecting blood but was otherwise not being disciplined while an internal investigation was under way. A police department spokesman said there was no further comment. The University of Utah issued a statement saying it supported Wubbels "and her decision to focus first and foremost on the care and well-being of her patient." Source
