Newly weds blocked from ER during wifes stroke. Husband later arrested

[ctrlraven]

Source: http://www.wrcbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12673455


CHATTANOOGA (WRCB) – A patient, believed to be having a stroke, says an officer with the Chattanooga Police Department blocked her husband from taking her to the emergency room at Erlanger Wednesday night.
Aline Wright is a cancer survivor, amputee and a newlywed. Wednesday night she began to show signs she was having a stroke.

"I started feeling some left arm numbness and a facial droop," said Aline.
"It appeared to me that I was probably having a stroke."

That's when her husband of four days, Jesse Wright, put her in the car and rushed her to the Erlanger Medical Center. Wright knows an emergency. He is a nurse technician at Erlanger.

On the way to the hospital, Aline says Jesse treated two red lights like stop signs. He would stop and then proceed if no traffic was coming. After Jesse ran the second stop light one block from Erlanger, the officer turned on the cruiser's blue lights and followed the couple into the emergency room parking lot.

"At that point we figured because we were so close to Erlanger emergency department that the police would be aware that's where we were going," said Aline.

According to Aline, the officer caught up with the couple as they were attempting to enter the emergency room at Erlanger Medical Center. Aline says her husband was carrying her in his arms because she could not walk. According to Aline, the officer blocked the entrance and demanded answers for running the red lights.

"He picks me up in his arms and the officer continues to block the way into the emergency room," said Aline.

"He's standing between Jesse and I, and the emergency room doors."
Aline says eventually the officer allowed them to enter the hospital, but says he didn't stop there.

Aline tells Channel 3 Eyewitness News that once the couple was placed in a hospital room, the officer attempted to enter their room to arrest Jesse for evading the police.

Erlanger medical personnel then turned the officer away, informing him that since Aline could not speak Jesse was needed to answer questions for the doctors.

Thursday morning Erlanger security informed the couple that a warrant for Jesse's arrest had been issued, and suggested he turn himself in. Aline says Jesse went to the Hamilton County Jail to turn himself in that evening. According to Aline, jail employees told Jesse that they had no record of a warrant for him and told him he was free to go.

Jesse returned to his ailing wife's bedside at Erlanger Medical Center.
"I thought it was over," said Aline.

"But apparently it wasn't. I was awakened abruptly by people coming in the room."

On Friday morning the police were back at the hospital. This time Jesse surrendered to Erlanger Security who arrested him on behalf of the Chattanooga Police Department.

Channel 3 had the only crew there as Jesse was released on $7,500 bond, about eight hours after being arrested. He is facing seven charges related to Wednesday night's events, including felony evading arrest. He's due in court on July 9th.

Eyewitness News contacted Chattanooga Police today for their side of the story.

Lt. Kim Noorbergen said, "Unless we receive an Internal Affairs complaint on an officer we trust he is doing his job."

The department will not comment further until a formal complaint is filed with the Internal Affairs Department.

Aline Wright says she plans to file a complaint. The couple has already hired an attorney for a possible lawsuit.

An Erlanger spokesperson tells us by law their security guards are obligated to carry out any arrest warrant related to felony charges. The Erlanger spokesperson says once they learned the warrant for Wright's arrest was issued, and they learned he was in the building, they had to arrest him.

[knine]

This is usually CBT's kinda stuff.......where is he anyway? :dunno:

[Bluerauder]

I suspect that there is alot more to this story than meets the eye. I'd like to hear the "other" side.

[Hacklemerc]

Well you know us cops, always violatin' rights, stepping on fingers and such... I'm sure this guy didn't say anything or do anything wrong either. If he would have just called 911 and had an ambulance come get her it would not have been a problem.

[rayjay]

I suspect that there is alot more to this story than meets the eye. I'd like to hear the "other" side.

+1, uh huh...

[Blk Mamba]

didn't this same thing happen, about a year ago, except the admitted patient died?

[Mr. Man]

Sounds like a type A who got his feathers ruffled but like Blurauder says there is another side to this. I expect ctrlraven will follow up on this story when more facts are released.

[Haggis]

If Chris needed to get to the hospital, I would have knocked that MF cop out cold. Enough said.

[TooManyFords]

I met a type-A donut muncher in Carlisle. What a tool.

Thank gods he is not representative to the the 99.9% other LEOs I hang with.

[Haggis]

I met a type-A donut muncher in Carlisle. What a tool.

Thank gods he is not representative to the the 99.9% other LEOs I hang with.

Don't talk about Rayjay like that, he is really a nice guy. Maybe you did not make a good first impression again. ;)

[vkirkend]

Well you know us cops, always violatin' rights, stepping on fingers and such... I'm sure this guy didn't say anything or do anything wrong either. If he would have just called 911 and had an ambulance come get her it would not have been a problem.

I'm sorry but police are not all good or bad, do not always use best judgement, and this is NOT the first time some have oversteped there authority. Do you really expect a family member to be calm when a loved one's life is in danger? The policeman should have erred on the side of caution and compassion and let the man alone. Especially after going into the hospital and finding the wife could not speak! He was headed to a HOSPITAL! How insensitive for you to say that he should have called 911 and waited for an ambulance. This person has emergency training and knows that minutes saves lives. By waiting for an ambulance she could have died! Have you not seen the budget cuts taking place accross the country? This officer should lose his job for this and if you think what the husband he did was wrong maybe you're in the wrong profession.

[Bluerauder]

I'm sorry but police are not all good or bad, do not always use best judgement, and this is NOT the first time some have oversteped there authority. Do you really expect a family member to be calm when a loved one's life is in danger? The policeman should have erred on the side of caution and compassion and let the man alone. Especially after going into the hospital and finding the wife could not speak! He was headed to a HOSPITAL! How insensitive for you to say that he should have called 911 and waited for an ambulance. This person has emergency training and knows that minutes saves lives. By waiting for an ambulance she could have died! Have you not seen the budget cuts taking place accross the country? This officer should lose his job for this and if you think what the husband he did was wrong maybe you're in the wrong profession.

I think you missed the point of Hack's ^^^^ sarcasm. ;)

[fastblackmerc]

Waiting to hear the other side's story...........

[vkirkend]

I think you missed the point of Hack's ^^^^ sarcasm. ;)

Sorry, but I could see myself doing the same thing in that situation and thought the comment showed no compassion. If it was an attempt at sarcasm I missed it. Sometimes comments are taken out of context and maybe that's what I did. if I mistook the comment for what it was my apologies to Hack and the site.

[Egon Spengler]

IF a family member of mine were not feeling well, the first thing I am doing is calling 911 to get the ambulance rolling. My town has an incredible fire/rescue service (that I am on) and get there very quickly. I would rather get the ambulance to my family member that throw that person in a car and split to the hospital. Getting an ALS ambulance on scene for something like a stroke is vital for getting them meds as quickly as possible. This way the interventions are starting in the field and continued at the hospital instead of just starting at the hospital. Also, having the ambulance transport gives the hospital heads up that you are coming and that way they can plan for your arrival from the "patch" or radio transmission that the EMT or Paramedic gives to the hospital. Yes, every second counts, that is why it is vital to get an ALS ambulance on scene to start the interventions in the field and give the report to the doctors so they can take over. With an ambulance, they will have all the initial vital signs and EKG read outs they need to help diagnose the problem and start treatment and interventions from where the ambulance crew left off.

Sorry for the rant. Also, there are a lot of power trip weenie cops out there and wouldn't be surprised if this cop was pushing his weight around. Of course, I am not jumping to any conclusions because I am friends with a lot of great cops and there are two sides to every story.

[LeoVampire]

I feel in a possable case of stroke every minute count's and the decision to run someone to the hospital yourself instead of waiting for a ambulance can be the right thing to do.

3 Years ago I was in the middle of a stroke and could not figure out how to dial 911 so I went up stairs to my neighbors and they did.

First and officer was sent to watch me and stay with me while we waited for an ambulance. A child was hit just up the street from us so the ambulance was diverted to handle the child and had to wait for another one.

Bit by bit I was having more of a problem comunicating and the headach was so bad I couldn't stop crying.

The officer refused to transport me to the hospital and would not let my neighbors bring me either.

Anyways it took me several months of hard work to relearn a lot including proper speach, how to drive, use a PC and more and I still have residual problems from it to this day.

So I would have rather had either my neighbors or the officer rush me to the hospital rather than waiting for an ambulance that could do nothing to stop the stroke in the first place.

So I am on the side of the guy who is in trouble for what he did because every minute lost in treatment is brain cells lost that you never get back.

Ya I am sure there is more to this story than we know but the officer should have allowed them into the hospital first and the guy should have come back out after he knew his wife was being treated and not avoided the situation.

[PonyUP]

I think regardless of whether it is right to transport yourself or wait for an ambulence, the fact of thematter is they were at the hospital and needed medical attention which was delayed by the LEO. Anyway you slice it, in this case he fought the Law and the Law was wrong

[Egon Spengler]

3 Years ago I was in the middle of a stroke and could not figure out how to dial 911 so I went up stairs to my neighbors and they did.

First and officer was sent to watch me and stay with me while we waited for an ambulance. A child was hit just up the street from us so the ambulance was diverted to handle the child and had to wait for another one.

Some towns have stronger EMS than others. My town is great as we have 2 ambulances manned and if there is a 3rd or fourth call, we are already calling in mutual aid from other towns to cover our town should there be a 3rd or more calls. If it were my town I would definitely call 911, but in a town I was unsure about a town's ambulance service I might think about driving as well.

I would love to hear the other side of the story, but as of now, this seems like a power trip weenie cop situation.

[fastblackmerc]

Alot of towns, mine included, have the fire department as first responders. All the firemen are trained EMTs. The fire truck usually will beat the ambulance most of the time.

From the town website:

"All Cary Fire/Rescue firefighters are Emergency Medical Technician and Basic Life Support certified. The department responds to all life threatening medical emergencies as BLS first responders. Beyond basic life support, firefighters are trained to defibrillate and administer life-saving drugs and procedures. Ambulance service is provided by Cary EMS, a volunteer/paid service that is also accredited."

I'll be calling 911 first.

[Egon Spengler]

fastblackmerc. I am an EMT-B / firefighter for my town and I ride on the ambulance. We are like you said, a fire / rescue service. Certain calls can be handled by EMT-B's and others need a Paramedic who can administer drugs (EMT-P). Our town has 2 ambulances manned 24-7-365 with great guys. We have two EMT-B's and two EMT-P's on at all times. We run an ambulance and the "squad" out the door which is a fire truck. In some instances, we will just take both ambulances instead of a fire truck. In my town I would go for the phone, but there are some towns in my area that I will be looking for my keys and if I am driving for a town that I know has good ALS (Advanced Life Support) services, I will have them intercept me in that town.

[thathotrodlincn]

IMHO it is a matter of judgement as to wait for transport, or to immediately transport without waiting. In matters of family health, the only one legally empowered to exercise their opinions when the family member is incapable of, or incompetent to express their wishes it the next of kin. In the case of a living spouse, the living spouse is the next of kin. By blocking sought treatment AT THE HOSPITAL the officer displayed extremely poor judgement that borders on criminal neglegence. His Department should thoroughly and impartially axamine the circumstances and the axctions of all parties. Should the LEO be found in error, appropriate sanctions be taken including (but not limited to) nol pross of the felony evasion charge. If the driver is found to be in error, appropriate violation prosecution should be forthcoming. Again IMHO, felony evasion is a stretch, a loooooooooooong stretch.

[ctrlraven]

fastblackmerc. I am an EMT-B / firefighter for my town and I ride on the ambulance. We are like you said, a fire / rescue service. Certain calls can be handled by EMT-B's and others need a Paramedic who can administer drugs (EMT-P). Our town has 2 ambulances manned 24-7-365 with great guys. We have two EMT-B's and two EMT-P's on at all times. We run an ambulance and the "squad" out the door which is a fire truck. In some instances, we will just take both ambulances instead of a fire truck. In my town I would go for the phone, but there are some towns in my area that I will be looking for my keys and if I am driving for a town that I know has good ALS (Advanced Life Support) services, I will have them intercept me in that town.
Take a step back, you're taking it too personal man.

The smartest thing a person can do if they are going to transport the person themselves is to drive with some sense, put the hazards on and call 911 while in route. The 911 dispatcher can relay the information to an officer in the area and most of the time by doing so can end up with a police escort to hospital. From being an EMT myself years ago and being involved with several local county police departments currently this is usually the best course of action. Can't guarantee anything, just speaking on past experiences where we have had coordinated a meet spot for the driver to meet us or had them directly to the station since it was en-route to the hospital.

[PonyUP]

Take a step back, you're taking it too personal man.

The smartest thing a person can do if they are going to transport the person themselves is to drive with some sense, put the hazards on and call 911 while in route. The 911 dispatcher can relay the information to an officer in the area and most of the time by doing so can end up with a police escort to hospital. From being an EMT myself years ago and being involved with several local county police departments currently this is usually the best course of action. Can't guarantee anything, just speaking on past experiences where we have had coordinated a meet spot for the driver to meet us or had them directly to the station since it was en-route to the hospital.

Didn't say whether he had the hazzards on or not, and obviously was scared for his wife, so he may not have been thinking clearly, but he did stop at the red lights and advance when there was no traffic, it sounds like he was driving with some sense. Either way though, once at the hospital impeding medical treatment for someone is a bigger crime than evading police while taking them to the hospital IMHO

[Black_Noise]

WTF people..... use some dam commen sense. oh hey, ill block this guy carring his wife into the ER cause he went through a red light.... cause there is obviously no reason

[justbob]

WTF people..... use some dam commen sense. oh hey, ill block this guy carring his wife into the ER cause he went through a red light.... cause there is obviously no reason
+1, Lets "pretend" for now that this is legit unless proven false. If so, you'd be out of your damn mind to stand in front of me carrying my wife suffering a possible stoke. If you manage to get me down, and my wife gets even more hurt, well then friend, you and I will catch up down the road..

[Ladyhawke]

+1, Lets "pretend" for now that this is legit unless proven false. If so, you'd be out of your damn mind to stand in front of me carrying my wife suffering a possible stoke. If you manage to get me down, and my wife gets even more hurt, well then friend, you and I will catch up down the road..

Did I not already say this. Two great minds thinking a like. :up:

-Haggis

P.S.
Chris always hoging this damn computer.

[steve fox]

too many cops, not much sense.

[PonyUP]

too many cops, not much sense.

Well this cop didn't show much sense, but I know there are some LEO members here (I've met a few) and they are all stand up guys.

[DEFYANT]

Sounds like this officer may have screwed up. Bottom line, some people are better at their jobs than others. I see it everyday.

That said, I've stopped cars where, "suddenly" out of the blue, a "medical emergency" appeared. The case I recall went from a typical moving violation stop, to her getting locked up for false report and hindering an investigation after she was cleared by medical authorities as being BS. She plead guilty.

[Shora]

He CARRIED THE WOMAN!!!

The medical staff told the Officer that the WOMAN CANNOT SPEAK!!!

What more does it take for this A-Hole to get the message and take a step back?

Opps, it may offend his ego.

[Shora]

All charges have been dropped on the man trying to save the life of his wife.

Now, I await the charges to be filed against the LEO.

[Egon Spengler]

All charges have been dropped on the man trying to save the life of his wife.

Now, I await the charges to be filed against the LEO.
Thanks for the updates. I was hoping this would be the outcome. If that cop pulled that with me and my wife was having a stroke, once I put her down and he was still in my face, he would have been knocked out for sure.