Nurse Alex Wubbels from Utah was led away in handcuffs after she refused to draw blood from an unconscious patient.
The shocking incident was captured on a body cam by members of the Salt Lake City Police Department, and the footage has now gone viral.
Former Olympic skier Alex had been working in the burns unit at the University of Utah hospital when Salt Lake City Police Detective Jeff Payne arrived, asking to obtain vials of blood from an unconscious patient.
The badly injured patient was a truck driver who had been brought to the unit after a serious road traffic accident, a collision which had left another driver dead.
Alex explained to the officer how she would be unable to take blood from the patient as he was unable to give consent, and there was no warrant. By allowing this, she would be breaking the law.
However, Officer Payne does not back down and even threatens to have Alex arrested if she won’t give in to his demands.
At one point in the footage, he can be heard saying:
I either go away with blood in vials or body in tow.
The distressing scene can be watched below:
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Events escalate when Payne tells Alex she is under arrest and grabs her roughly. He then pulls her arms behind her back and fastens handcuffs on her wrists.
Alex can then be seen being dragged into a patrol car, all the while screaming:
Help! Help! Somebody help me! Stop! Stop! I did nothing wrong!
Alex was later released, and all charges were dropped.
Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.