A nurse in Utah has been arrested after refusing to let police take a blood sample from a patient. The unfair arrest was recorded on camera. She has since been proven innocent, and the police have apologised.
It’s no news flash that the American police force tend to jump on making unfair arrests based on little evidence. They are highly aggressive and sometimes ignorant, and usually such incidents have a root in racism. However, this particular unfair arrest was focused on a white female nurse who was simply doing her job.
Upon being asked by the police to give them a blood sample for a patient, the nurse rightfully asked if this patient was under arrest. She then calmly explains to them the basis upon which she would be allowed to give a blood sample; a criteria which in this case wasn’t met. She highlighted that patient consent is required, which obviously in this context was not and could not at this time be obtained.
The footage:
In a surprisingly aggressive turn, the police suddenly begin to arrest the nurse and do not do so in what is exactly a calm manner. The nurse is visibly upset and you can’t help but watch that video and feel empathetic towards her; she really didn’t do anything wrong. She was simply following the rules, and was nothing but polite and civil.
Again, it’s not surprising to see this sort of behaviour from the American police. In a sense, it’s extremely sad that we are no longer surprised by their brutality and lack of sense. It seems to be a concerningly regular occurrence, and this is just another perfect example of someone who was unjustly victimised by them.
Luckily, this woman did receive a formal apology from the chief of the City Police Department of Utah. He states that he was ‘alarmed’ by what he saw in the footage.
‘I want to be very clear. We take this very seriously.’
Hmm. Sounds familiar. Almost like we’ve heard that one before, and yet nothing seems to change. And sadly, there are plenty of victims of police brutality who never receive an apology or the justice they deserve.
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