Abusing Authority

I know a few friends that are nurses. One of which is a traveling one. In my own family, I have a sister and cousin who work as ones, too. This profession works very long hours in a stressful environment. I hope that they don't face the same thing that happened to Alex Wubbels back in late July where she was arrested for doing her job the right way.

Back in July at a Utah hospital, Wubbels had to deal with a cop, who demanded to see blood work of a patient who was involved in an accident earlier the day of the incident. The cop, Jeff Payne, was said to not have a warrant to get a sample. Another way in Utah is to get permission, but the patient was unconscious, so there was no way to do that. Wubbels explained to him about the policies, but Payne grew tired of it, and had her arrested.

Up until the last few days, it's just another arrest story. With the body cam video being released within the past week, it's become another case of cops over abusing their authority. The way Payne tried to grab Wubbels to arrest her comes off very aggressive and unprofessional. I'm going to go on a limb and say not every cop (and FBI for that matter) is like this. Unfortunately, there is a few that take a step too far and whether it gets them in trouble or not depends. So now in Utah, new rules have been implemented. Cops are not allowed to talk directly to nurses and being banned in certain areas. A few cops have been put on leave, but potential lawsuits could be coming from Wubbels pending what goes on with police procedure and changes if implemented.

You can't blame this nurse for following protocols and doing her job. I think there does need to be a point where the law needs to show actual warrants. People should not be afraid to ask them for warrants. Police departments (and any authority like FBI, ATF, etc...) need to be held accountable and take initiative for when one of their own goes out of line. Maybe this can serve as something to prevent other incidents like this from happening all over the United States.

We need cops to protect the world. However, there's always the few that ruin it for others. Payne will fit in that latter and could potentially be charged for his treatment of Wubbels. I just hope none of this happens to friends and family I know, or anyone that works in the medical profession.