A Utah hospital says it's proud of the way their nurse handled a confrontation with a police officer, who has been slammed by fellow nurses as violent.
The University of Utah Health hospital said in a statement Friday that Alex Wubbels followed procedures and protocols in the July 26 incident.
Wubbels was threatened with arrest by Salt Lake City police Detective Jeff Payne when she refused to allow blood to be drawn from an unconscious burn center patient.
National Nurses United called it a disgraceful and outrageous act of violence for the officer to drag the screaming nurse out of the hospital in handcuffs.
Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski called Wubbels' arrest completely unacceptable and said it's a troubling setback to efforts to train officers to de-escalate situations rather than use force.
Police Chief Mike Brown says he's alarmed and sad the incident caused a rift between police and nurses.
He says the department has taken steps to ensure it won't happen again. The officer has been removed from a drawing blood but remains employed during an internal investigation.
The officer's body camera showed Wubbels calmly explaining to Salt Lake detective Jeff Payne that she couldn't draw blood 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.
The dispute ended with Payne telling the nurse she was under arrest and physically moving her out of the hospital while she screamed.
