Salt Lake City police say an officer seen on video dragging a screaming nurse from a hospital and handcuffing her will be put on paid administrative leave after prosecutors called for a criminal investigation.
Police Chief Mike Brown said in a statement Friday that his department will comply with the investigation into Detective Jeff Payne. He arrested nurse Alex Wubbels after she refused to allow blood to be drawn from an unconscious victim, in line with hospital policy.
Salt Lake County's Unified Police Department will run the criminal probe into Payne's actions on July 26, which got widespread attention after Wubbels and her lawyers released the dramatic video Thursday.
Brown and the mayor of Salt Lake City have apologized for the incident and changed their policies to mirror hospital protocols.
An Idaho police department is thanking a Utah nurse for stopping a Salt Lake City officer from obtaining a blood sample from one of their reserve officers who was unconscious in a hospital.
Police in the eastern Idaho town of Rigby said Friday that William Gray was severely injured in a Utah crash in July when the semi-truck he was driving for work was hit by another car.
Rigby police said in a statement they didn't know until Thursday that the nurse was arrested after refusing to allow blood to be drawn from Gray.
The department thanked the nurse, Alex Wubbels, and hospital ``for standing firm'' and protecting the Gray's rights.
It says he is still hospitalized.
A Utah prosecutor says he's asked for a criminal investigation into a police officer who dragged a nurse from a hospital and arrested her for refusing to allow blood to be drawn from an unconscious patient.
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said Friday that he was concerned when he saw police body-camera footage of the officer arresting nurse Alex Wubbels in July.
Gill says he called Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown to request the investigation and that the chief agreed.
Gill says Brown will choose an outside police agency to investigate. He declined to say what charges the officer could face.
Police did not immediately return telephone messages seeking comment or details about the criminal investigation.