Utah detective who arrested nurse for refusing to take blood from unconscious patient now wants to apologise

'If he could do this over he would do it over differently,' says lawyer

The police officer who dragged a screaming nurse to jail after she refused to take blood from an unconscious patient has said he wants to apologise to her, according to his lawyer.

Shocking video surfaced earlier this month showing Utah nurse Alex Wubbels calmly stating hospital policy that prevented her from drawing a blood sample without a warrant—before Detective Jeff Payne lost his patience and arrested her.

As Ms Wubbels, a former Winter Olympian, was dragged from the hospital to a police patrol car, she could be heard to scream: “Help! Help! Somebody help me! Stop! Stop! I did nothing wrong!”

Now the Salt Lake City detective, who was placed on leave and fired from a second job as a part-time ambulance driver, wants to apologise.

His lawyer, Greg Skordas, told KUTV: “Jeff would love the chance to sit down and apologise for what happened here. If he could do this over he would do it over differently.

“There is no question that Jeff made a mistake. I can understand the public being upset this was a troubling event.

“[Mr Payne] believed at the time he was following a direct order.”

University of Utah Hospital later warned police they would no longer be admitted to wards and would deal only with “house supervisors” rather than medical staff. Criminal and internal investigations into Mr Payne's conduct are underway, according to the Associated Press, while lawyers for Ms Wubbels have not ruled out filing a lawsuit over the incident.