Nurse Confronts Police Power...and LOSES!

[HarvestMoon1]

@ahl re:#78 --that was my understanding – the blood draw was for ensuring the trucker was not accused of any wrongdoing. Others are saying it was an attempt to protect the police from claims the accident resulted from their high speed chase – they were hoping to find alcohol or drugs in his system. I have not seen those reports – you suggested you read something to that effect in your #71.

[alh]

I can’t find where I read it, but don’t think I imagined it. The link in #77 is as close as I could get to the idea it was to protect police:

In fact, the claim that this blood draw was part of an “investigation” at all adds another layer of revulsion to Payne’s behavior. The unconscious man Payne wanted blood from was not suspected of any crime and had done nothing wrong. He was, in fact, a victim of a crime.
…

So Gray’s terrible injuries were a consequence of a police chase that he had absolutely nothing to do with. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. According to the coverage of the arrest, Payne said that he wanted to draw blood from Gray to check for drugs in order to “protect” him in some fashion, not to punish him, and that he was ordered to go collect his blood by police in Logan. It is not made clear in any coverage what exactly the police would protecting him from by drawing his blood without his consent while he was unconscious. Payne also said it was his watch commander, Lt. James Tracy, who told him to arrest Wubbels if she refused to draw blood.

[garland]

I don’t understand why he would need that “protection.” Without proof of impairment, any accusation of it would be baseless. Drawing his blood could only potentially hurt him, not help him. It makes no logical sense to test his blood to “help” him.

[alh]

^especially when he didn’t cause the crash

I’ll keep looking for the article, but it will probably just be speculation on the part of the author.

[greenwitch]

This article is from July 31, just a few days after the accident (and well before the video from the hospital was released):

http://www.cachevalleydaily.com/news/local/article_7ed7fffe-763c-11e7-b79f-ff8270105f8d.html

The accident occurred July 26 along US-89/91, near the mouth of Sardine Canyon. The two troopers had just initiated their lights and sirens, trying to pull Torres over when the crash occurred.
Since two troopers were involved, Logan City Police officers were asked to investigate the crash. Police Chief Gary Jensen called the videos “horrific” and said it appears the troopers did everything right.
“I don’t know UHP policy, but I watched what the Highway Patrol did and everything I saw was as I would expect to be equal to our policy,” Jensen said…

…“What can you even formulate in your mind in 10-seconds? Let alone, get a hold of your supervisor? Let alone, go through the rules in your head of is this worth it, is it not worth it? I mean 10-seconds is nothing and literally the accident just comes out of nowhere. It is just bam.”

It seems half the article is explaining the actions of the state troopers involved and how they were justified. It makes me think the blood draw was to help back them up in case the blame became focused more on them.

As someone else pointed out, there’s no way the blood draw would help a man that everyone had already assumed was innocent.

Here’s another wrinkle, from a different article:

Meanwhile, four local troopers had just left the Mendon Cemetery, where they had gone to a funeral to pay their respects to a former trooper. They all responded toward Wellsville when the ATL came out, Perry said.

It was that group that pursued the pickup truck that hit the semi.

[alh]

HarvestMoon:

One might wonder why the police wanted his blood, when he was, essentially, a bystander. The Utah police have said that it was meant for Gray’s protection, but Payne, in his report on the incident, obtained by the Salt Lake Tribune, said that the officers who were dealing with the crash wanted to know whether Gray had any “chemical substances” in his system. Another, troubling possibility could be that they were looking for something that might place some of the responsibility for the crash on Gray, in case he complained that the police had been reckless in their pursuit.

https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/what-the-utah-good-nurse-bad-cop-video-says-about-medical-privacy

of course, this is speculation

[LakeWashington]

There is a strong circumstantial indication that Payne and Tracy were motivated to mitigate police liability for the crash. Payne’s own written report includes significant contradictions. And I can’t wait to hear his explanation for being angry and arresting the nurse. But of course, if he is put on trial he likely will not testify in his own defense. As for his supervisor Tracy, he’ll be compelled to testify, will he not? Unless he is indicted. What say you, you attorneys out there?

[LakeWashington]

The fallout for these two dim bulb cops begins;

http://nypost.com/2017/09/14/arrest-of-nurse-who-refused-to-draw-blood-broke-policies-mayor/

[OHMomof2]

Still paid leave

[greenwitch]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/arrested-utah-nurse-sexually-harassed-police-staffer-article-1.3499314

Sounds like sexual assault too if there was unwanted contact.

[BunsenBurner]

Boy that link got my blood boiling!!! So misleading. The article title is fine, the content is fine, but the link itself implies that is was the nurse who harassed the staffer. Wth?!!!

[OHMomof2]

I didn’t read it that way @BunsenBurner ?

[BunsenBurner]

Let’s parse it out

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ … national/arrested-utah-nurse-sexually-harassed-police-staffer-article-1.3499314
It reads “arrested nurse sexuall harassed police staffer” REALLY??? They could not put “cop who” into the link??? Disgusting.

[OHMomof2]

Ah I see, I misunderstood what you were saying. I’m guessing the link itself is created for maximum SEO.

[BunsenBurner]

Sad… the patient has died.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/27/us/idaho-reserve-officer-utah-nurse-trnd/index.html

[greenwitch]

How very sad.

[partyof5]

The cop was fired, yea!!

https://apnews.com/b36a48ded4584bf7b9a1ce2f206a57d6/Utah-officer-fired-after-nurse’s-arrest-caught-on-video?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=AP

[LakeWashington]

Harsh punishment but certainly justified, given the entirety of this cop’s actions. He didn’t help his case with his moronic comments either; like threatening to dump transient and uninsured patients at the hospital in question, as a measure of revenge. Also, his supervisor, whom ordered the arrest, has been demoted. Hopefully lessons have been learned…but somehow I suspect we will again hear about abuse of power and misbehavior in the not too distant future.

[LakeWashington]

Has anyone read that that the nitwit cop has apologized to nurse Alex? What truly undermines public support for cops is that they hardly ever admit they are wrong and even less likely to try to make amends. Just look at the fool whom attacked and wrongly arrested tennis star James Blake. Now he’s suing Blake for distress!!!

[partyof5]

Im ecstatic he was fired but dismayed that there is such a double standard. A cop can man handle or kill or woman of color and rarely is there a punishment, except for a leave of absence. Heck even those are paid sometimes.