SALT LAKE COUNTY – The video showing the detaining of nurse Alex Wubbels after she refused to do a blood draw on an unconscious patient made international headlines. Now, the Salt Lake County District Attorney is asking the FBI to look into it.
After watching the body cam video, Sim Gill thought there may have been some civil rights violations committed by Detective Jeff Payne. However, civil rights laws are not normally handled by the DA’s office. “But, that falls squarely within the realm of our federal partners,” Gill says.
So, he sent a letter to the FBI, asking that agency to determine if Wubbels civil rights were violated. Gill says it could fall under federal “color of law” regulations. He adds, “For example, if you arrest somebody and you don’t have probable cause, or you deny somebody’s civil rights in the execution of your official capacity, then there are [possible] violations of the constitution.”
In the meantime, he still has an investigation of his own to see if any state laws were broken. However, this could take time since there was no criminal investigation when the arrest happened. “There are multiple law enforcement officers in that video. There are other external agencies that are involved to the issue in that video,” Gill says. Unified Police are spearheading the investigation.
Even though the video clearly shows what happened, Gill says he needs more than that if he wants to make any kind of an argument in court. “I have to actually gather the evidence in a way that is precise and presentable,” he says.
