Pregnant Woman wins right to sue police that arrested her as she was in labor...

[Amina516]

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/c...nlawful_arrest

http://jonathanturley.org/2009/11/14...emature-birth/



Two threads from a story I came across...

A federal court of appeals has ruled that Melanie Dawn Williams, 24, can sue after she was tackled by Jacksonville, Florida police in a hospital where she was experiencing a premature birth. Once inside the ER and she screamed, “I’m pregnant. Someone help me. I am bleeding.” It took the intervention of a nurse to get the police to release her to deal with her serious medical condition.

Williams was seven months pregnant and a doctor told her to rush to St. Vincent’s Medical Center. When she ran a red light, she was chased by Officers M.H. Sirmons and J.D. Mills who proceeded to tackle her and dragged her outside from the emergency room in handcuffs. Williams was bleeding from the labor and eventually a nurse went outside to force the officers to allow them to give her medical treatment.

Officer Sirmons said that he was told by Williams that she was bleeding but not pregnant. He assumed that she was just trying to get out off a ticket.

The panel on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled that officers knew she was in medical distress and could be sued even if she did not mention that she was pregnant.

On another forum I frequent, the thread turned racial as the woman was black and the officers were white.

I think, fuck race. If a woman comes pregnant and screaming into the ER, I wouldve thought twice about arresting her.

ETA:Also, what kind of doctor tells you to rush yourself to the ER in that kind of condition?! An ambulance shouldve been called, either by herself or the doctor.

[BroomJockey]

Okay, lemme get this straight. The only thing she did was run a red light. This necessitates the cops tackling her, and trying to get her denied medical treatment.

And the cops are still cops why?

[Mr Slugger]

Well you know to me this is just another in a growing list of stories where someone was pregnant, and had something happen because of the police. There was another story recently where a father was arrested while helping his wife into the hospital because he failed to stop for the police.

Now my take is regardless of what they did wrong. If they're going to a hospital let them do what they need to do. Chase them around if you want, but just f-ing let them do what they need to do.

Because if my wife was in labor, and I'm taking the baby is coming now! type labor I'd do everything to get near a hospital. I mean I'm sure a cop can deliver a baby, but what if the baby is breach, doesn't breath, etc. I'd want to be at a hospital for that. You can give me a ticket, you can arrest me if you want, but do it after everything is ok.

Now As far as the lady driving herself. I think the thing is she was probably in a panic mode. The doctor said get up here, and to the doctor I'm sure he was meaning have someone drive you, call an ambulance, not drive yourself up to the hospital. But she was in a panic and probably the first thing that popped into her head was drive.

[jackfaire]

Also, what kind of doctor tells you to rush yourself to the ER in that kind of condition?! An ambulance shouldve been called, either by herself or the doctor.

You can't in most places force an ambulance on someone if they refuse one and many will do so if they are capable of driving because of the cost of one.

Typically a cop will escort said person to hospital this is the first I have heard of that kind of response and the cop should be suspended and given drug tests because he had to have been high to think that was ok.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I went from "making a pot of chili" to "water breaking" to "contractions are about three minutes apart" in less than half an hour.

Tackling her in the fucking ER? Anyone making a "judgement call" that over the top poor doesn't need to be out in public without an handler, but less driving a cruiser and toting a gun. I mean, seriously! It never occured to them there might be an emergency?

They need to be FIRED, SUED, and possibly JAILED. Im with the poster who said that tackling her was a bit much for simply running a red light. I am sure it was a case of "this bitch refused to submit to my power! Let's show HER who is boss!"

And I hate to play the race card, but in this case, I support it. This is so beyond the pale I hope they play every card they have in their arsenal.

[Boozy]

Would they have tackled a white woman to the ground for running a red?

It's impossible to say for sure. And yet, every bone in my body says that they would not have.

[Amina516]

You can't in most places force an ambulance on someone if they refuse one and many will do so if they are capable of driving because of the cost of one.

At least where I live, its a liabiity issue. If a doc wants you to go to the ER, even from the office, they generally call an ambulance, especially with something as serious as the above.

But yeah..panic mode may have not allowed for thinking stuff through.

Its just all insane.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Would they have tackled a white woman to the ground for running a red?
.

I can't believe I am actually going to type this, but no. I highly doubt it.

[Amina516]

Oh, holy hell..

http://www.news4jax.com/video/21599985/index.html

I just came across this link to the newscast that was actually IN one of the links i already posted.

Apparently, she called 911 as she was driving, the the call was "lost", so she received no help and drove herself. Then, when she ran the red light, she stopped for the cops, told them she was sick and kept on going.....

Theres also video of the cops chasing her into the ER and leading her back out. Ugh. Im disgusted.

[Greenday]

Now, supposing she DID stop for the cops and explained what happened, yes, what they did was wrong.

Now, if she didn't stop...the cops did nothing wrong.

According to the video posted, she pulled over and just said, "I'm sick." I don't believe that in anyway is enough to just give someone a freebie. She recklessly put other people's lives at risk (yes, running a red light does indeed often lead to stupid accidents). If she perhaps explained why she thought she was sick, things would be different. For all the cops know, she may have meant she was mentally sick. Then it'd be a huge freaking issue for her driving recklessly. It seems that she didn't even wait for the cops to respond, she just tried to run away from them to the hospital. So what should they have done? Just let someone go that is running from the cops? Yes, great idea, let's just let everyone go who runs from the cops.

[BroomJockey]

Now, if she didn't stop...the cops did nothing wrong.

They tackled someone who was in an ER. Don'tcha think that if they followed her that far, the responsible, intelligent thing might have been to enquire as to why she had run the light, and was there? I mean, I might have gone for "guns drawn" even. But fucking tackling someone who was rushing in to an ER. What if they'd killed her that way? Would you still defend their actions? Because with another person under similar circumstances, that could happen.

[tropicsgoddess]

I hope she wins this case and that her baby is okay. The cops trying to tackle a woman who was BLEEDING and in obvious medical distress over running a red light is nothing short of excessive. It goes to show you that some people in power can be real jackasses.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

At seven months pregnant, most women are OBVIOUSLY pregnant. So tackling an obviously pregnant woman in an ER over a frigging run light is okay to these fuckheads?

I don't care if they thought she was faking or not, she wasn't faking being seven months pregnant. That's usually a little bit hard to hide. So really, in order to justify THAT sort of assault, they would have to think that they were in mortal peril from her.

[Greenday]

Second time I've debated whether the cops were right or wrong for arresting someone rushing to the ER because they ran a red light and refused to stay put long enough to explain their situation. I find it ironic, though not surprising, that I'm always the only one defending the cops.

How obvious is it that someone is seven months pregnant...from behind?

How safe to the public does someone who runs red lights and run from the cops seem?

Yes, I'm sure because they ran into the ER, that MUST mean they needed medical attention. That surely is the ONLY possible reason why someone running from the cops would go there.

[BroomJockey]

Yes, I'm sure because they ran into the ER, that MUST mean they needed medical attention. That surely is the ONLY possible reason why someone running from the cops would go there.

If the person's stopped running once they reach there, I think instantly resorting to physical methods of restraint are overboard. Again, what's to stop the cops from simply going up to the lady, hands on tasers, mace, guns, batons, WHATEVER, and saying "Explain yourself now, or we'll arrest you, and you're getting a ticket anyway." Seriously. Answer me why if someone's stopped running they needed to go straight to the tackle.

ETA: I love the police, I'm usually right there cutting them a break on accusations of brutality and such, but from the sounds of it, they didn't try shit.