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| Handout | Reuters |
On Monday September 4, the University of Utah hospital announced new reforms to its protocols regarding law enforcement. In order to prevent similar situations from happening again, law enforcement officers will have to work with hospital supervisors instead of the nurses, who can now focus on attending to their patients instead. The nurses and care staff will also no longer need to know the policies for dealing with officers.
In addition to the new policies, Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski and Salt Lake Police Chief Mike Brown have issued official apologies to Wubbel, who accepted the apology and is now looking forward to "help promote further civil dialogue and education." It seems as though the police were unaware of the hospital policy at the time of the incident, though the protocol had been drawn up and agreed on a year ago by both the University of Utah Hospital and the police force, but the police have assured that the officers are now familiar with the new policy in place. The arresting officer Detective Jeff Payne and one other officer are now on administrative leave.
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Fun Fact: Alex Wubbel is a two-time national alpine skiing champion. She competed in the 1998 and 2002 Winter Olympics.
Discussion Questions:
Is this yet another example of police misconduct?
What else can be done to make sure that these incidents don't happen again?
5 comments:
I believe that this is another example of police misconduct because even if they were not familiar with the protocol, the nurse showed them the rules that she was obeying by. She was obviously not making anything up if she showed them the printout of the rules she was following. The police should have been understanding of the situation and maybe call their superior or the nurse's superior to see what could be done about the problem and handle with more respect. I think this is a disrespect to the nurse because she was not doing anything wrong. She was just obeying the rules of the hospital.
I strongly believe that this is another example of police misconduct since the protocol was in fact agreed upon by the University of Utah and the police force. With the police simply ignoring the rules that they agreed on, it emphasizes that the police’s actions aren’t really justified. Further, the police dragging Alex Wubbels when she clearly had evidence of the hospital rules in her hand and in print demonstrates the police, in this situation, to be uncommunicative and stubborn. To make sure that these incidents don’t happen again, I believe that it is important to educate not just the police, but everyone about misconducts like these. It is surprising that the police were able to carry out the whole situation when it should’ve been handled by those superior to her, especially because it’s dealing with the law. Lastly, while all misconduct may not be reported, I think that it is beneficial to prevent situations like these through increased training in the hospital as well as the police force which can’t fully eliminate it, but can decrease the chances of it happening again.
I do not believe this is another police misconduct. Even though it seems like the police is conducting based off of his own impatient, the public must understand that every police apartment has their own rules. As the son of a San Francisco police officer, my father explains that some departments have the authority to run a blood sample if the suspect/victim is involved in an accident. non the less, the police officer could have handled the situation better, but there also must be empathy and understanding from his perspective.
I also believe that this is an example of police misconduct. I understand that each police departments might have their own rules, but the nurse informed them of the rules of the hospital and even gave them evidence. I think that this is a situation where some police officers seem to be holding themselves above the law. As for preventing these incidents, the only thing that I believe they can do is educate the officers. They need to be informed of changes in the law and need to respect rules of other establishments like hospitals. Being a police officer does not mean they can ignore the law.
As many have previously stated, this is a clear example of police misconduct. The nurse was just following her own protocol, which the police, for some reason, could not and did not respect. It is evident that these officers were unaware or just ignorant to the partnership and policies set in place between the police department and the university hospital, which led to the altercation. It is unacceptable that the officers were not aware or respectful of the agreement, and should not be able to be officers if they are not willing to abide by it. Additionally, even if the police have their own unique policies, they also must respect the policies of hospitals that have to work in unison with them. I am fine with the police attempting to do their job if they have their own policies that they need to carry out, but they cannot abuse someone who is also doing their job in the process. To solve these issues, it is important to make sure that officers are not only well-educated, but respectful people who in the heat of the moment can remember that there are others that are equally as important as them and have equally good intentions, even if they get in the way of one another.
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