(Audio begins at 30 seconds, arrest at 6:45 mark)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Sept. 5, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — Salt Lake City Police Detective Jeff Payne — already placed on administrative leave following his cuffing and arrest of a nurse who refused to draw blood from an unconscious burn patient in her care — has now been fired from his part-time paramedic job.
Gold Cross Ambulance released a statement Tuesday saying Payne was terminated ”effective immediately.”
The incident follows the release of a video that has made international headlines. In the July 26 video, released last week, University Hospital nurse Alex Wubbels can be seen explaining the agreed-upon procedure to Payne, who had instructed Wubbels to draw blood from William Gray, a patient who had been in a fiery crash in Cache County after a suspect fleeing police ran a vehicle into the truck Gray was driving.
The fleeing suspect died in the crash.
Wubbels listed the conditions under which she could legally provide the blood: A warrant for the patient’s arrest or for the blood, or the patient’s verbal permission.
Payne then conferred with his police supervisor before grabbing Wubbels, handcuffing her and forcing her into the back of his patrol car.
Payne also can be heard on the recording threatening that as a paramedic, he would bring transients to the University Hospital and take “good” patients elsewhere.
Since the video went viral, Wubbels has earned near universal praise, and Payne’s actions have been condemned by his police chief, Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, officials from the University Hospital, and Gray’s employer, the Rigby (Idaho) Police Department.
University Hospital has also announced a procedure change wherein officers deal with administrators, not nurses.
Payne and a second SLCPD employee, whose name has not been revealed, are on leave and facing investigations by the Salt Lake County Attorney, the Unified Police Department and a citizens review board.
