“I was scared to death… I feel betrayed,” says nurse arrested for refusing to allow a patient’s blood to be drawn https://t.co/PL30DzGjkR pic.twitter.com/F3AwnRfIxe

— CNN (@CNN) 4 September 2017

A Utah nurse who was handcuffed after she refused to let law enforcement draw a blood sample from an unconscious patient said Monday she felt “scared” and betrayed.”

During an interview on CNN’s “New Day,” Alex Wubbels, a nurse at University of Utah Medical Center, said she stood her ground and stood for what was right.

“Any nurse I think would have done exactly what I did,” she said.

Wubbels was pressed on what was going through her head when all of this was happening.
“I was scared to death,” she said. “I was obviously very frightened … I really feel betrayed.”

She said she feels betrayed by the police officers and by the university police and security.

On Friday, Salt Lake City’s mayor and police chief apologized after the incident, saying what was seen was “completely unacceptable.”

Hospital and officer body camera footage show Wubbels telling officers the hospital would not allow them to draw blood from a patient without a warrant, the patient’s consent or if the patient were under arrest.

Detective Jeff Payne then told the nurse that he would leave “with blood in vials or body in tow.” He then said the nurse was under arrest, before placing her in handcuffs.

An Idaho police department on Friday revealed that the patient is one of its reserve officers and thanked the “heroic” nurse for her actions.

The Rigby Police Department in a statement on Facebook identified the patient as William Gray, one of its reserve officers. Rigby is a city in southeast Idaho.

The department said Gray was “severely injured” in a car accident during his full-time truck-driving job.

“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. Protecting the rights of others is truly a heroic act,” the department said.

Source: http://thehill.com