So I’m usually someone who supports police action however in this case I can’t even fathom why this officer thought his actions were justified. A nurse and her administration, on the phone, are explaining to a detective that she can’t allow him to take a blood sample without a warrant, patient consent, or the patient being under arrest. The detective flips out and decides to arrest the nurse. Can anyone justify this behavior?
Donald Trump.
I’m not sure he was involved.
I’m sure he wasn’t, but he could certainly justify the behavior…
I don’t know if you’ve seen the video of the accident, but he drove the wrong way down a road and hit a semi head-on. There were flames; it was dramatic. I suspect the officer saw the accident and Was under the effect of a massive adrenaline rush. He was also realizing that he’d get no proof of the driver’s intoxication once the hospital began to treat the pain. (i.e. everything in the system would be attributed to the doctor’s treatment.)
He also appears to have been poorly trained - no one bothered to tell him that implied consent had been knocked down by SCOTUS ten-ish years earlier.
His opportunity to gain proof was slipping away and he lost it. I’m not saying it’s OK, because it isn’t. But you wanted to know why, and that’s my guess.
We have gotten away from holding officers responsible for keeping themselves under control despite the proddings of adrenaline. I don’t think they get much training on the subject. They need to know how to recognize it, and practice methods of consciously calming themselves before they act. It’s an incredibly difficult job, and the body actively works against good decision-making in times of stress.
The patient was the semi driver (the suspect was killed at the scene). The patient was not suspected of any crime, and the police officer apparently wanted to blood draw to clear his name. Link to WaPo article.
Imho the hospital should have complied with the officer’s request. They needlessly put this nurse in a terrible situation.
It’s the courts job to decide if the evidence (blood) is obtained lawfully. The court can have the evidence thrown out. Maybe even throw the case out too.
Also the suspect has civil remedies if blood is obtained unlawfully.
There is no need to put the nurse in a situation where she had to refuse a direct order from police.
The officer should be punished. He overreacted.
No, the police officer put her in the situation by acting unlawfully and reprehensibly, full stop. The hospital should NOT have just said “Ah, shucks” because there are laws (and ethical standards & creeds) which protect the patient and which the hospital is obligated to uphold. The officer was asking the nurse to violate those laws and standards and to violate the patient’s rights. Even with the most cynical “not my problem” attitude and ignoring the ethical implications, it WOULD have been the hospital/nurse’s problem when they violated the law because it was just easier that way.
I am a Registered Nurse, and while I haven’t practiced hospital-based nursing since the 90s, I can’t justify it at all.
I was an OR Nurse, and the saddest thing about this is the real camaraderie that existed between us nurses and cops. There was a sense we had each other’s backs.
All this recent behavior by unqualified, jumpy, insensitive and/or poorly trained policeman is very disheartening and upsetting to me.
Yes, and if a raped woman can have an abortion and can be cured of any STDs, then no harm no foul, right?
The point of the law is to prevent the violation of the person of the truck driver against his will (i.e. without his consent) and nothing else. If you think the taking of a blood sample is a trivial violation, tell us where you would draw the line, and why?
The cop was out of control, as noted by TruCelt, and acted outside his authority. He, and his superiors, are the ones responsible for this, not the victim and her employer.
There’s a limited amount of time to do that.
The body absorbs alcohol pretty quickly.
If the truck driver was sober then they needed the sample quickly.
Blood drawn many hours later couldn’t conclusively prove he was sober.
The hospital shouldn’t be second guessing a police officer’s request. Let the courts decide later if this is admissible evidence.
“Hey, we need to violate your constitutional rights to prove you weren’t guilty of any crimes you’re not suspected of. You’ll thank me when you’re conscious…”
Actually that blood test could have saved the truck driver from civil suits later.
Remember the Walmart driver that hit Tracy Morgan? He had been driving too many hours. That resulted in a multi million dollar settlement.
Absolute, unadulterated bullshit. Cops should know and follow the law and not violate people’s rights. The hospital and staff are safeguarding those rights. It’s assault without consent.
And it could have proved the truck driver was drunk or high, which is a fact he might not have consented to inform others of if he were conscious and could be asked. Do you imagine his hypothetical civil suits would go well if the fact of his intoxication was known?
Or his religion might forbid bloodletting.
The point is, it’s only the patient’s decision to make, no one else’s.
Would it have been possible for the cop to get an insta-warrant?
(ETA: There’s really two questions there: Would it have been legally possible, and would it have been logistically possible?)
WTF?? Who died and made this cop god? Maybe the cop shouldn’t be second guessing a nurse who knows more about patient rights?
I honestly thought nobody could possibly justify it - there’s my mind blown :smack:
Of course the hospital should set themselves up for thousands of dollars in fines as well as potential civil and criminal litigation because, “RESPECT MY AUTHORITAH!!!”
The hospital wasn’t “second guessing” anyone. They know the law and the penalties they face if they break the laws because they will actually be held accountable for having done so.
Apparently one of the other cops asked that and the detective said that they didn’t have pc (probable cause)
The big question I have is how did arresting her get him any closer to taking a blood sample? Was he planning on arresting people until someone caved?