On July 26, 2017, Jeff Payne, a detective for the
Salt Lake City Police Department
The Salt Lake City Police Department (SLCPD) is the police department of Salt Lake City, Utah.
History
The SLCPD was founded in 1851, under a then newly created City Charter, when the Mayor authorized a police department to be created and forty ...
(SLCPD), arrested nurse
Alex Wubbels
Alexandra Luise Wubbels (née Shaffer; born January 23, 1976) is an American nurse and former Olympian. As an alpine ski competitor, she was the national champion in both the Slalom and Giant Slalom in 1999, and competed in the 1998 and 2002 Win ...
at the
University of Utah Hospital
The University of Utah Hospital is a research and teaching hospital on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. It serves as a major regional referral center for Utah and the surrounding states of Idaho, Nevada, Wyoming, Monta ...
after she refused to illegally
draw blood from an unconscious patient. Footage of the incident released on August 31, 2017 went viral online. The SLCPD announced policy changes which would affect how police should handle situations involving drawing blood, and the hospital announced it would also change its police protocol to avoid repeating the incident. Utah lawmakers made a bill to amend the blood draw policy of Utah law enforcement, which Utah Governor
Gary Herbert
Gary Richard Herbert (born May 7, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 17th Governor of Utah from 2009 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he chaired the National Governors Association during the 2015–2016 cycle.
Herbert w ...
signed into law on March 15, 2018.
Incident
On July 26, 2017, Marcos Torres, a
pickup truck
A pickup truck or pickup is a light-duty truck that has an enclosed cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof (this cargo bed back end sometimes consists of a tailgate and removable covering) ...
driver fleeing from
Utah Highway Patrol
The Utah Highway Patrol (UHP) is the functional equivalent of state police for the State of Utah in the United States. Its sworn members, known as ''Troopers'', are certified law enforcement officers and have statewide jurisdiction. It was create ...
troopers in
Cache County, Utah
Cache County ( ) is a county located in the Wasatch Front region of Utah. As of the 2020 United States Census the population was 133,154. Its county seat and largest city is Logan. Cache County is included in Logan metropolitan area.
History ...
, crashed head-on into a
semi-truck
A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semitruck, (or semi, eighteen-wheeler, big rig, tractor-trailer or, by synecdoche, a semitrailer) is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight. A semi-trailer a ...
. Torres, the pickup truck driver, died at the scene. William Gray, the semi-truck driver and a part-time police officer, was severely burned.
He was taken into the
University of Utah Hospital
The University of Utah Hospital is a research and teaching hospital on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. It serves as a major regional referral center for Utah and the surrounding states of Idaho, Nevada, Wyoming, Monta ...
in a sedated and
coma
A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...
tose state.
Officers from the
Salt Lake City Police Department
The Salt Lake City Police Department (SLCPD) is the police department of Salt Lake City, Utah.
History
The SLCPD was founded in 1851, under a then newly created City Charter, when the Mayor authorized a police department to be created and forty ...
arrived at the hospital and asked to get a
blood sample
In medicine, sampling is gathering of matter from the body to aid in the process of a medical diagnosis and/or evaluation of an indication for treatment, further medical tests or other procedures. In this sense, the sample is the gathered matter ...
from Gray.
Alex Wubbels
Alexandra Luise Wubbels (née Shaffer; born January 23, 1976) is an American nurse and former Olympian. As an alpine ski competitor, she was the national champion in both the Slalom and Giant Slalom in 1999, and competed in the 1998 and 2002 Win ...
was on-duty nurse at the time and advised Payne that the police request did not meet the legal requirements and could not be performed. Wubbels cited established policy that
#the patient must be
under arrest, or
#a
warrant must have been issued ordering the taking of a blood sample, or
#the patient must give his or her consent.
She cited to that effect the specific hospital policy, on which the police department had agreed, that would not permit her to provide the blood sample.
Wubbels is shown in the Detective Jeff Payne's
body cam video holding a cell phone in her palm. On the video, Payne can be heard saying, "She
ubbelsis the one who has told me 'No'." The remote person on that phone, assumed to be a hospital administrator, says
"Yeah, sir, but you're making a big mistake. Right now you are making a huge mistake and are threatening a nurse-"
Payne then cut the conversation off with an "OK" and made a two-handed grab for her phone; when she pulled it away he said "No. We're done. We're done.", and then grabbed and arrested Wubbels. She was later released after spending 20 minutes in the police car in handcuffs without any charges being brought against her.
Gray never recovered from his injuries and died on September 25, 2017.
Investigations & response
At a press conference on August 31, 2017, nurse Wubbels and her attorney released footage of the incident taken from hospital surveillance and police body cameras. The footage of the incident soon went
viral online.
The SLCPD faced heavy criticism on social media for how it handled the incident.
According to a statement posted by Salt Lake City mayor
Jackie Biskupski
Jackie Biskupski (born January 11, 1966) is an American Democratic politician, who served as the 35th Mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah. Upon taking office, Biskupski became Salt Lake City's 35th mayor, the city's first openly gay mayor, and the se ...
, the SLCPD launched a 35-day
internal affairs investigation into the arrest within 24 hours of the July 26 incident, starting with meeting the hospital's CEO and nursing management team.
A state audit of this investigation found that the police department had followed policies for this investigation, though it suggested the SLCPD should work faster to publicize information that is in public interest. The
Salt Lake County
Salt Lake County is located in the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 1,185,238, making it the most populous county in Utah. Its county seat and largest city is Salt Lake City, the state capital. The coun ...
District Attorney
In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...
Sim Gill
Simarjit Singh Gill (born 1961) is the District Attorney for Salt Lake County, Utah, first elected to the office in November 2010.
Career
Before his District Attorney election, Sim Gill worked as Salt Lake City's Chief Prosecutor. Sim Gill was el ...
announced that his office was also investigating the arrest. Gill requested investigative assistance from the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
(FBI). FBI spokeswoman Sandra Yi Barker said the agency opened a
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...
review after the video went public, agreed to help the county investigate the incident, and also opened a probe into the arrest. The
Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake
The Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake (UPD) is a police department located in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States.
Description
The UPD serves unincorporated Salt Lake County and the communities of Copperton, Holladay, Kearns, ...
also investigated the arrest.
[
The SLCPD publicly apologized to Wubbels for the arrest, and put officer Payne on paid leave on September 1, 2017. Another police officer connected to the incident was put on paid leave the next day. According to Payne's attorney, Payne had expressed a desire to apologize to Wubbels for the incident.
On September 2, about a hundred Utahns gathered at a Utah Against Police Brutality rally near the SLCPD courtyard to call for Payne to be fired. The ]University of Utah
The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...
police chief apologized to Wubbels on September 4, saying that the university police should have done more to protect her on the night she was arrested.
On September 13, 2017, Jackie Biskupski
Jackie Biskupski (born January 11, 1966) is an American Democratic politician, who served as the 35th Mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah. Upon taking office, Biskupski became Salt Lake City's 35th mayor, the city's first openly gay mayor, and the se ...
, the mayor of Salt Lake City, said that the internal investigation revealed Payne and his watch commander, Lt. James Tracy, violated six separate staff policies during the incident, including policies regarding arrests and standards of conduct. A report from Salt Lake City's Police Civilian Review Board also alleged that Payne and Tracy violated police policies. It stated that Payne became upset and frustrated during the incident, eventually " osingcontrol of his emotions." Payne's lawyer said this report was based on speculation.
On September 25, the Salt Lake Police Association, the police union, criticized the city for its treatment of the police officers involved in the incident.
On October 11, 2017, Payne was fired by the police department and his commanding officer at the time of the incident, Lieutenant James Tracy, was demoted two ranks down to police officer. Payne had been already fired on September 5 from his part-time job as a paramedic
A paramedic is a registered healthcare professional who works autonomously across a range of health and care settings and may specialise in clinical practice, as well as in education, leadership, and research.
Not all ambulance personnel are p ...
for the private firm of Gold Cross Ambulance.
Tracy appealed his demotion, arguing it amounted to "excessive discipline," but the Salt Lake City's Civil Service Commission upheld it.
Aftermath
Following the incident, the SLCPD changed its policies on drawing blood. A police department spokeswoman said these changes require law enforcement to have consent or a warrant to draw blood, instead of just implied consent
Implied consent is consent which is not expressly granted by a person, but rather implicitly granted by a person's actions and the facts and circumstances of a particular situation (or in some cases, by a person's silence or inaction). For examp ...
. These policy changes served as the model for police protocols announced by the SLCPD on October 12, 2017, which other police agencies in the Salt Lake Valley
Salt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably Murray, Sandy, South Jordan, West Jordan, and West Valley City; its total po ...
could choose to adopt.
According to hospital officials, within weeks after the incident, they had implemented new rules meant to allow patient care staff to focus on their work and minimize disputes in patient care units. The hospital announced these changes in September 2017, which included not allowing police officers in patient-care areas and having them speak with "house supervisors" instead of nurses.
On October 31, 2017, Wubbels and her attorney announced that Salt Lake City and the University of Utah had agreed to settle the incident for $500,000. She said that part of the settlement would go toward efforts geared to making body cam footage easier for the public to obtain.
On October 11, 2019, the former detective Payne filed a suit against the Salt Lake City Police Department, seeking more than $300,000 in damages and claiming that, in 2017, though following the orders of his commanding officer and complying with department policies, he was "wrongfully terminated." Payne had been hired in August 2019 by the Weber County Sheriff's Office
Weber County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,223, making it Utah's fourth-most populous county. Its county seat and largest city is Ogden, the home of Weber State University. The county ...
as a "part-time civilian corrections assistant," the "second controversial high-profile hire" for the Sheriff’s Office "in recent months," as the press reported, coming a few weeks after Kayla Dallof, a former University of Utah police detective who had been fired for showing a “complete dereliction of duty
Dereliction of duty is a specific offense under United States Code Title 10, Section 892, Article 92 and applies to all branches of the US military. A service member who is derelict has willfully refused to perform his duties (or follow a given o ...
,” was hired as a sheriff's deputy
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
.[
]
Legislative effect
On September 20, 2017, the Utah State Legislature
The Utah State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. It is a bicameral body, comprising the Utah House of Representatives, with 75 state representatives, and the Utah Senate, with 29 state senators. There are no term li ...
's Judiciary Interim Committee voted unanimous
Unanimity is agreement by all people in a given situation. Groups may consider unanimous decisions as a sign of social, political or procedural agreement, solidarity, and unity. Unanimity may be assumed explicitly after a unanimous vote or impl ...
ly in favor of drafting a bill that would clarify consent laws regarding police-ordered blood draws.
On November 15, 2017, a legislative committee drafted a bill that, mainly, would require police officers to take a blood draw only with the person's oral or written consent, through presenting a warrant, or presenting a judicially recognized exception to a warrant. Representative Craig Hall, R-West Valley City
West Valley City is a city in Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt Lake County and a suburb of Salt Lake City in the U.S. state of Utah. The population was 140,230 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census,
making it the List of cities and towns in ...
, who was a member of the drafting committee, stated that "there are situations where a blood draw is necessary and justified" but the new legislation "takes that decision out of the police officer's hands," adding that "electronic warrants take about 10 minutes to obtain, so there's really no reason not to get one."
On January 25, 2018, the Utah House of Representatives
The Utah House of Representatives is the lower house of the Utah State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. The House is composed of 75 representatives elected from single member constituent districts. Each district cont ...
voted 72–0 to pass the bill, numbered HB43.
On January 31, Alex Wubbels testified to the State's Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee in support of the bill.[ The Salt Lake City Police, the ]Utah Highway Patrol
The Utah Highway Patrol (UHP) is the functional equivalent of state police for the State of Utah in the United States. Its sworn members, known as ''Troopers'', are certified law enforcement officers and have statewide jurisdiction. It was create ...
, the American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
of Utah, and the Libertas Institute also expressed their support during the hearings.[
The Committee voted 6–0 in favor of passing the bill. Utah Governor ]Gary Herbert
Gary Richard Herbert (born May 7, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 17th Governor of Utah from 2009 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he chaired the National Governors Association during the 2015–2016 cycle.
Herbert w ...
signed it on March 15, 2018, and the legislation went into effect on May 8, 2018.
See also
*''Birchfield v. North Dakota
''Birchfield v. North Dakota'', 579 U.S. ___ (2016) is a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the search incident to arrest doctrine permits law enforcement to conduct warrantless breath tests but not blood tests on sus ...
''
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
Footage of the incident
released by ''The Salt Lake Tribune
''The Salt Lake Tribune'' is a newspaper published in the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The ''Tribune'' is owned by The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc., a non-profit corporation. The newspaper's motto is "Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871."
History
...
''
Frequently Asked Questions regarding the incident
from the Salt Lake City mayor's office
legislation inspired by the incident
{{DEFAULTSORT:University of Utah Hospital incident, 2017
2010s in Salt Lake City
2017 in Utah
2017 controversies in the United States
July 2017 events in the United States
Federal Bureau of Investigation operations
Law enforcement in Utah
Medical controversies in the United States
Police brutality in the United States
Social problems in medicine
2017 hospital incident
Viral videos
Salt Lake City Police Department