Nurse Sues City, Officer Over Arrest
Led from hospital in cuffs, but no charges were filed
NBCChicago.com
A hospital security camera shows Lisa Hofstra being led away in handcuffs after refusing to draw blood from a man who wasn't a patient.
A nurse is suing the Chicago Police Department after being cuffed for allegedly not complying with a police order.
Lisa Hofstra was the charge nurse on the overnight shift at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center on Aug. 1 when she says an officer came in around 4 a.m. and requested blood be drawn from the man to determine his blood-alcohol concentration.
Hofstra said she told the officer that the DUI suspect would need to be admitted as a patient before she could draw blood. It was hospital policy, she said she told him.
When she turned around to call her supervisors, she was handcuffed and placed in a squad car for 45 minutes.
She's suing the city and the police officer, arguing the officer used excessive force by placing the cuffs on too tightly and arrested her without probable cause.
No police report or charges were filed, and Chicago police have not commented on the case.
Posted Monday, Sep 21, 2009 - 7:35 PM CST
