The police are conducting a criminal investigation into the arrest of a nurse at the University of Utah Hospital that was captured on video and led to widespread condemnation.
Police officers will be barred from patient-care areas at a hospital in Utah that drew widespread notice for an officer’s arrest of a nurse, hospital officials said this week.
The new policy, announced at a news conference on Monday, was put into effect soon after a Salt Lake City police officer arrested Alex Wubbels, who on July 26 refused to allow an officer to take a blood sample from an unconscious patient at University of Utah Hospital. Video footage of the encounter surfaced last week, leading to fierce condemnation of the police tactics, including a rally in Salt Lake City on Saturday.
In the videos, two of which were recorded by police body cameras, Ms. Wubbels can be seen explaining to the officer that she could not allow blood to be drawn from a patient unless he is under arrest, there is a warrant for his arrest or he has consented to having his blood drawn. The officer, Jeff L. Payne, handcuffed her in response, accusing her of impeding an investigation.
Ms. Wubbels was not charged with any crimes. Mr. Payne and an unnamed officer were put on administrative leave as the department conducts a criminal investigation into the episode.
Nurses at the hospital will no longer deal directly with law enforcement officers, according to the new policy. Instead, officers will check in at the front desk and will interact with a supervisor who is trained in law and hospital policy, said Margaret Pearce, the chief nursing officer at the University of Utah hospital system.
The change in policy will allow nurses to focus on caring for patients, Ms. Pearce said.
“If there is a discussion or an issue, it needs to occur outside the patient care environment, ” she said.
The patient, identified as William Gray, was a truck driver and reserve police officer for the Rigby Police Department in Idaho. He was not suspected of wrongdoing; a driver fleeing the police crashed into Mr. Gray’s truck, severely injuring Mr. Gray and killing himself.
In a statement on Facebook, the police in Rigby sided with Ms. Wubbels in her confrontation with Mr. Payne.
“The Rigby Police Department would like to thank the nurse involved and hospital staff for standing firm, and protecting Officer Gray’s rights as a patient and victim, ” the statement read. “Protecting the rights of others is truly a heroic act.”
The U. S. Supreme Court has ruled that officers must have a warrant to draw blood in drunken-driving cases. In a statement last week, Mike Brown, the Salt Lake City police chief, said the department would “do what is necessary to fully investigate the issue, uphold the integrity of the Salt Lake City Police Department, and strengthen the trust with our community.”
Ms. Wubbels has said in interviews that she hoped the episode would create a productive discussion.
“I’ m not here to police the police, ” she said in an interview on Monday on “Today.” “The police need to do that if they’ re going to regain any kind of trust by me or, I think, the public.”
