The police officer who handcuffed and arrested a nurse for refusing to go against the hospital's policy on drawing blood said through an attorney that he would like to personally apologize for the incident, KUTV reported.
Detective Jeff Payne faced criticism for the way he handled an incident in July where he requested hospital employees to draw blood from an unconscious driver who had just been in an accident without that driver's permission or a warrant. The hospital, citing legal precedent, has a policy of not drawing blood without permission or a court-ordered warrant.
When nurse Alex Wubbels refused to draw blood, she was handcuffed and placed in the back of a police cruiser.
"Jeff would love the chance to sit down and apologize for what happened here," attorney Greg Skordas told KUTV. "If he could do this over he would do it over differently."
Payne, along with another officer, were placed on administrative leave by the Salt Lake City Police Department after video of the incident went viral. The department has also since updated it policy regarding blood draws.
"I think he would love the chance to talk to people about what happened and why it happened and how he would do it differently," Skordas told KUTV.
