A police officer/paramedic has been fired after using law enforcement tactics to remove a nurse when he did NOT have the legal grounds to do so.
Jeff Payne demanded a local nurse draw blood from the unconscious patient he had in custody and upon her refusal stating hospital policies the officer obtained permission from his supervisor to detain the woman for refusal to cooperate with a law enforcement officer.
Unfortunately for Payne he and his supervisor were wrong and the nurse was in her full and obligated right to refuse the blood draw without consent from the patient or a warrant. Payne has now lost his job and policies have now been changed to incorporate such a situation in the future. What is curious is that Jeff Payne and not his supervisor have been reprimanded for a decision that they made together.
Jeff Payne, a detective with the Salt Lake City Police Department, was fired Tuesday following an investigation, Chief Mike Brown said Tuesday.
In a video filmed July 26, Payne, who was working as a part-time paramedic, asked University Hospital Nurse Alex Wubbels to draw blood from an unconscious patient, which she refused to do, citing company policy.
The detective had support from his supervisor, Lt. James Tracy, who said Wubbels could be arrested if she didn’t allow the blood draw.
Payne eventually told Wubbels she was under arrest and physically removed her from the hospital while she screamed, claiming that she hadn’t done anything wrong.
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Salt Lake City police later apologized for the arrest, changed their blood-draw policies and placed Payne and Tracy on paid administrative leave after the video from police body cameras drew widespread attention online.
Payne was fired from his paramedic job with Gold Cross Ambulance — a company which he worked for since 1983 — on Sept. 5.
Political correctness is interfering with both law and medical personnel from knowing when and what is appropriate and the result is loss of jobs for good people in the name of ‘justice.’