Nurse says cop assaulted, arrested her for refusing blood draw from unconscious patient

SALT LAKE CITY - A Utah police officer's body camera video shows a hospital nurse being handcuffed after refusing a blood draw from an unconscious patient.

The video taken at University Hospital in Salt Lake City on July 26 shows nurse Alex Wubbels calmly explaining to Salt Lake detective Jeff Payne that she couldn't allow a blood draw on a patient who had been injured in a car accident. She told the officer a patient was required to give consent for a blood sample or be under arrest. Otherwise, she said police needed a warrant.

Wubbels calmly points out to Payne that these parameters are spelled out in an agreement between the hospital and the department.

CBS affiliate KUTV reports that Wubbels had the backing of her bosses, one of them was on the phone with her and could be heard on the video telling Det. Payne, "Sir you are making a huge mistake right now because you are threatening a nurse."

Despite the warning, Payne is heard saying, "We are done, we are done, you are under arrest."

He can then be seen grabbing Wubbels and cuffing her as she screams, "You're assaulting me stop! I've done nothing wrong! This is crazy! This is crazy!"

In the video Payne's partner could be heard trying to calm his partner down during the arrest.

Another officer is heard saying, "I don't think this arrest is going to stick."

On Friday, Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupsky issued a statement saying that what she saw on the video was "completely unacceptable," and a "troubling set-back" to her office's efforts to promote de-escalation techniques by police.

Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown also issued a statement saying he was "alarmed" by what he saw on the video. He stated that Payne has been suspended from the department's blood draw program and that program's policies have been updated. KUTV reports that the department has opened an internal investigation into the incident but that Payne is still on active duty.

Wubbels says she's very upset that none of the University of Utah officers came to her rescue and just stood by and watched it happen.

"I just feel betrayed, I feel angry and I feel a lot of things," said Wubbels during a press conference. "The only job I have is to keep my patient safe. Blood is your blood that is your property. When a patient comes in in a critical state that blood is extremely important. I don't take it lightly."