LP celebrates nurse who defended patient’s 4th Amendment rights
“Arresting a nurse for following the Constitution against the orders of an out-of-control police officer is outrageous,” said Nicholas Sarwark, chair of the Libertarian National Committee.
Police body-cam videos released on Thursday by the Salt Lake Tribune explicitly show Nurse Alex Wubbels being taken into custody for correctly defending her patient’s right not to have blood drawn without his consent, the patient being under arrest or under a warrant for probable cause.
On July 26, Salt Lake City Police Detective Jeff Payne insisted on getting a blood sample despite the clear 4th Amendment constitutional right of the unconscious patient not to have blood taken from him without his consent. Wubbels clearly and calmly told the officer that she was constrained both legally and by hospital policy from complying with the officer’s demands.
The officer snapped, cuffed Wubbels’s hands behind her back, and forcefully marched her to an unmarked police car. Although Detective Payne has now been placed on administrative leave, he was on active duty until the incriminating videos were made public and went viral on the Internet.
“Heroes like Ms. Wubbels should be celebrated, and criminals like Mr. Payne should be prosecuted,” Sarwark said. “It is not enough for Mr. Payne to be put on administrative leave. We call for Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill to pursue justice in this case by arresting and indicting Mr. Payne for his criminal conduct under color of law.”
This is the kind of abuse of power that should never be tolerated, Sarwark continued.
“Too many conscientious police officers risk their lives in the line of duty to have their professionalism sullied by officers who abuse their power as appears to have happened in this case,” Sarwark said. “For instance, just this Wednesday, Sacramento Sheriff’s Deputy Robert French was shot to death while doing what police officers should do: apprehending an alleged car thief.”
Sarwark insisted that those who stand up to unlawful authority should be celebrated.
“We as Libertarians applaud the heroism of ordinary people like Nurse Alex Wubbels,” Sarwark said. “She had the quiet courage to stand up for her patient’s rights against unlawful search.”
After Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski and Chief of Police Mike Brown issued long-overdue apologies, Wubbels issued this gracious statement:
“This morning, I received a call from the Mayor of Salt Lake City and the Chief of Police. They both offered me personal apologies, which I felt were sincere. I have accepted those apologies, and I look forward to working with both of them to help promote further civil dialogue and education. The common goal of all public service professionals should be to provide the best care to our fellow citizens.
“The outpouring of support has been beyond what I could have imagined. Since the incident, the City has taken this matter seriously, and I believe that positive change will occur.”
For more than 45 years, the Libertarian Party has stood for individual liberty in the face of abusive authority figures and intrusive legislation.
“Since our founding, the Libertarian Party has championed the rights of ordinary people against unjust laws and law-enforcement methods,” Sarwark said. “Our first presidential candidate, John Hospers, was an openly gay man when living a gay lifestyle was illegal in many parts of the country. We championed abolishing drug laws — which have been used to unjustly target the poor and minority groups — decades before states began to decriminalize marijuana. A free society is one where the laws are few, well-known, well-enforced, and limited to preventing the use of force or fraud by both the citizens and the government. This country has morphed into one where the laws are voluminous, impossible for anyone to fully know, and selectively enforced — often for political reasons. Democrats and Republicans are responsible for creating this system. Libertarians would like the opportunity to fix it.”
There’s something very creepy about that cop’s face. He has the look of a rapist.
Nick Sarwark’s comments in this release are spot-on. Alex Wubbels is a hero, and actions like hers should be celebrated, while those of people like the criminal cop who wrongfully arrested her need to be exposed and the perpetrators held accountable.
Wubbels’ arrest was only the first outrage. The next was just as bad – that the criminal cop was put on “administrative leave”, which is a euphemism for paid vacation. (People misusing power seem to love such euphemisms, like calling taxes “investments”, secret meetings “executive sessions”, or the North Korean dictatorship the “Democratic Republic of North Korea”.)
But it’s press releases like this one that make me as a Libertarian proud of my party for standing up for liberty and justice.
Steven Linnabary is correct.
The story went national. I see no problem with the national office weighing in. (Although the devil’s advocate side to me is getting a bit annoyed with the “press release du jour” coming from national. Sarwark doesn’t have to say something *every* day.
Actually, this is what a real political campaign does. There is the adage “never let a crisis go to waste” that the two major parties have perfected. It’s no accident that democrat and republican politicians have perfected this, and the new instant media has made it easy.
I have not seen the national office send news releases on a regular basis since Steve Dasbach held the chair twenty years ago.
Sending a news release is how politicians get broadcast interviews. I am proud to see the LP office writing and sending contemporary news releases.
PEACE
I don’t know if the Utah LP put out its own release. Certainly national putting one out doesn’t preclude them from doing one too.
I’m glad they are doing more frequent communication now. Not too long ago it was embarrassing with maybe one blog post a week and 1-2 press releases a month if that.
The story went national. I see no problem with the national office weighing in. (Although the devil’s advocate side to me is getting a bit annoyed with the “press release du jour” coming from national. Sarwark doesn’t have to say something *every* day.
Wouldn’t this be much more effective if it was coming from Utah LP or the Salt Lake City LP?
Even if local parties don’t have the time/skills to write media releases, they could at least repackage them under their name (which I hope they did) for the local media where the release is more likely to do good, lead to an interview, etc. The burden of “getting the word out” should not fall solely on the national office.