Utah prosecutors ask FBI to investigate nurse's rough arrest over blood draw

Alia Paavola -

Salt Lake City District Attorneys asked the FBI to join an investigation into the violent arrest of a nurse who refused to allow a police detective draw blood from an unconscious patient without a warrant at Salt Lake City-based University of Utah Hospital, according to The Washington Post.

District Attorney Sim Gill, who is overseeing the criminal investigation into XXXX, called upon the FBI to investigate whether the officers or anyone else involved in the arrest violated the rights of nurse Alex Wubbles, RN. While the county DA office is pursuing a criminal investigation, it needs the FBI's help to launch a civil rights investigation into XXXX, which falls under federal law.

"There continue to be issues that go beyond merely a criminal investigation, and in an effort to address those concerns, the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office has formally asked for assistance from our federal law enforcement partners to fully vet issues only they can investigate," Mr. Gill said in a prepared statement, according to Deseret News.

After the video surfaced last week, the FBI opened its own civil rights review and agreed to assist the county investigation, according to Deseret News, which cited FBI spokeswoman Sandra Yi Barker.

Two law enforcement agents involved in the July 26 confrontation at University of Utah Hospital have been placed on administrative leave pending the results of the investigation.

In response to the incident, the University of Utah Hospital imposed a new protocol to limit police access to patient care areas.

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