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Alex Wubbels

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Nurse

The Resume

    (January 23, 1976- )
    Born in Aspen, Colorado
    Birth name is Alexandra Luise Shaffer
    Twice competed in in Alpine skiing at the Winter Olympics (1998,2002)
    Head Nurse at the University of Utah Hospital (2009 - )
    Violently arrested by police after refusing to draw blood from an unconscious patient (July 26, 2017)
    Police body cam video of her being taken into custody by Detective Jeff Payne went viral, generating national outrage and a renewed discussion on police protocol (September, 2017)

Why she might be annoying:

    Her married last name sounds like some new kiddie toy.
    Many were under the false impression that the event surrounding her arrest had occurred within days of the body cam's release, when it actually happened nearly two months prior to the press conference.
    Her arrest generated angry reactions even among political conservatives usually indifferent to issues concerning police brutality.
    Some argued that the only reason said those usual skeptics suddenly 'started caring' was because - this time - the victim was an attractive white woman (suggesting that if the nurse were a black woman the reaction might have been more ambivalent).
    Nonetheless, a writer for The Daily Caller, Gregg Re, was virtually castrated on Twitter after publishing a piece titled 'Arrested Utah Nurse Had it Coming,' asserting that the officer was right to take her in because she was interfering with a pending investigation (even though the patient wasn't pertinent to said investigation).

Why she might not be annoying:

    She finished ninth in the Women's Olympic Combined skiing event, in Nagano Japan.
    She credits the toughness she learned from being an Olympic skier for getting her through the ordeal of her false arrest.
    She was praised for standing her ground on behalf of her patients.
    Her arrest brought attention to the unconstitutionality of warrantless blood tests carried out by police on unconscious victims.
    She could be heard shouting ‘help me’ and ‘you’re assaulting me’ in the footage.
    Her arrest resulted in a petition to raise awareness of the dangers of front line staff in healthcare being started by Change.org and forwarded to Senator Orrin Hatch.
    She was arrested for following hospital procedures within the law, and for pointing that out to the police (they had no warrant and the patient was not under arrest or a suspect).
    Her arrest led to the Salt Lake City Police Department opening an internal affairs investigation, and placing Det. Payne (and one other officer) on administrative leave.
    She explained her refusal on The Today Show as follows: 'The only job I have as a nurse is to keep my patients safe. A blood draw – it gets thrown around there like it’s some simple thing – but blood is your blood, it’s your property.'

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 6 Votes: 16.67% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 14 Votes: 64.29% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 7 Votes: 28.57% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 67 Votes: 53.73% Annoying