Maybe cops should know what the law is before they go arresting people for actions that are not in violation of it.
'Stop! I’ve done nothing wrong': Nurse shares police video of 'crazy' arrest by S.L. officer
By Pat Reavy @DNewsCrimeTeam
Published: Aug. 31, 2017 4:10 p.m.
[Nurse Alex] 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.
She was arrested after refusing to give [Salt Lake City Police detective] Payne vials of blood that he needed for an investigation because she said he did not have a warrant or meet any of the mandatory criteria needed for taking blood. . . .
The incident began when a truck driver was severely burned in a head-on crash with a vehicle that was fleeing from police in Cache County and crossed into on-coming traffic. The driver of the fleeing vehicle was killed.
The truck driver was sedated and in a comatose state when he arrived at the hospital.
Payne, a veteran Salt Lake police officer, was sent to the hospital by another police agency to get vials of blood for the investigation. But because the patient was not a suspect in the crash nor faced potential criminal charges, because he was unconscious and unable to give consent, and because the officer did not have a warrant, Wubbels — one of the supervisors that night — did not allow him to draw blood.
"If they needed blood, then they needed to go through to proper channels to take it,” she said.
In the body camera video, Wubbels is seen on her phone with numerous supervisors advising them of what was happening and getting confirmation about the policy. Payne sounds impatient in the video and continues to threaten to arrest her. . . .
[Wubbels's attorney Karra] Porter said Payne argued that he was allowed to take the blood through a process known as "implied consent." But she said that law was changed years ago.
"The law is well-established. And it’s not what we were hearing in the video,” Porter said. "I don’t know what was driving this situation." . . .
[Salt Lake Police Sgt. Brandon] Shearer also admitted that the department's blood-draw policy "hadn't been updated for a little bit" when the incident occurred. But since then, the policy has been changed and training is scheduled to make sure all officers are up to date on the policy, he said.
By Pat Reavy @DNewsCrimeTeam
Published: Aug. 31, 2017 4:10 p.m.
[Nurse Alex] 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.
She was arrested after refusing to give [Salt Lake City Police detective] Payne vials of blood that he needed for an investigation because she said he did not have a warrant or meet any of the mandatory criteria needed for taking blood. . . .
The incident began when a truck driver was severely burned in a head-on crash with a vehicle that was fleeing from police in Cache County and crossed into on-coming traffic. The driver of the fleeing vehicle was killed.
The truck driver was sedated and in a comatose state when he arrived at the hospital.
Payne, a veteran Salt Lake police officer, was sent to the hospital by another police agency to get vials of blood for the investigation. But because the patient was not a suspect in the crash nor faced potential criminal charges, because he was unconscious and unable to give consent, and because the officer did not have a warrant, Wubbels — one of the supervisors that night — did not allow him to draw blood.
"If they needed blood, then they needed to go through to proper channels to take it,” she said.
In the body camera video, Wubbels is seen on her phone with numerous supervisors advising them of what was happening and getting confirmation about the policy. Payne sounds impatient in the video and continues to threaten to arrest her. . . .
[Wubbels's attorney Karra] Porter said Payne argued that he was allowed to take the blood through a process known as "implied consent." But she said that law was changed years ago.
"The law is well-established. And it’s not what we were hearing in the video,” Porter said. "I don’t know what was driving this situation." . . .
[Salt Lake Police Sgt. Brandon] Shearer also admitted that the department's blood-draw policy "hadn't been updated for a little bit" when the incident occurred. But since then, the policy has been changed and training is scheduled to make sure all officers are up to date on the policy, he said.
